Barbed Wire
by Loverly Souris
Summary: One woman - an orphan, a talent, a tribute, a victor, a mentor, a rebel, a victim... The story of Wiress from the beginning to the end.
1. Puzzles and results

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 1 – Puzzles and results_

**o0o o0o o0o**

On the day before Wiress' fifth birthday, her mother takes her hand with a warm smile and dresses her up in her prettiest clothes that are saved for special occasions. After that, Westa starts working on her daughter's black hair, braiding and tying it up in a sweet bun. Wiress can definitely feel that something is going to happen, something extraordinary, otherwise she wouldn't prepare her this thoroughly.

"Where are we going, mom?" she asks while Westa slips a pair of leather boots onto her tiny feet and tie them. It was snowing a lot last night.

Her mother strokes her face, her hand is wonderfully warm despite of the cold. "It's a secret, dear, but I'm sure you'll like it," she answers and Wiress smiles back at her. If she says so, then it will be fun.

When they are ready, Wiress runs out to the living room cheerfully and darts towards her father who is sitting in his armchair, deep in thought. Strange wrinkles adorn his forehead, somehow reminding her of the thick clouds of smog that block the sunlight, but it all clears up as he sees his little girl and he laughs at her twirling and jumping around. "Look, dad, this dress is so beautiful!"

In the entire District 3, Géral Creever has the most melodious laugh. The people here hasn't got many things to laugh at, but he has a special talent to find even the faintest opportunities to crack a harmless joke or a witty comment, and he always earns a chain of laughter and grins. Sometimes, it is enough to hear him laugh, and simply that can make everything better. He can turn unbearable sorrow into bright happiness.

"_You _are the real beauty here, little wire!" Géral exclaims with fascination and pulls Wiress onto his lap. "The dress is just a piece of rag compared to you."

"Dad, when mom and I get back from the secret place, can I get a present?"

"A present?" Géral widens his eyes with fake surprise. "What for?"

Wiress pouts. "It's my birthday, dad, did you forget?"

"If I remember well, your birthday is tomorrow, not today. Right?"

"Yeah, but can't you give me my present today?"

Géral smiles and plants a kiss on Wiress' forehead. "You have to learn how to be patient. It's very important. Patience is a virtue, little wire."

"Okay," Wiress says cuddling up to her father's chest. "Then I'll wait until tomorrow."

The man chuckles. "That's my girl."

When Westa shows up in the room, Géral pretends to faint and grabs his head. "Oh goodness, another beauty appeared! Poor me, I'm lost forever!"

"Stop it, Géral," Westa shakes her head, but a smile is playing on her lips. "Come, Wiress dear, it's time to go."

The little girl jumps down from her father's lap and hops to her mother who bends down to put a coat around her. When she straightens, Géral is standing right in front of her, his dark eyes watching her seriously behind the round glasses. The wrinkles slowly creep back onto his forehead.

"Let's hope that she won't be good enough, shall we?" he says quietly with a bitter half-smile, glancing down at his daughter. Wiress doesn't hear him – she gets distracted by the large dancing snowflakes that start to fall outside the window and while she is watching them mesmerized, the world seems to stop for her.

Westa, who has never been as optimistic as Géral, shudders as tears gather in her grey eyes. "But she is, Géral. You know she is…"

The man wraps his arms around his wife and runs his hand up and down on her back. Of course he knows – Wiress is one of the most intelligent children of her age. "You have to be strong, love," he whispers into her black curls. "We've already talked about this, remember?"

"Yes…" Westa whimpers. However, this is the day that she has been dreading ever since Wiress was born, and no matter how many times she has replayed this scenario in her head, now all the angst of these years has been dropped on her with an enormous weight. She has no idea what she would do without Géral, who is always trying his best to balance the darkness in her mind with his own light.

"She might have a chance to fail. The tasks are probably much more difficult than in our times. It's not that easy to get in." A mere, feeble hope to hold onto.

"Yes, maybe," Westa nods and Géral lifts her head by her chin, turning her face towards him.

"Be strong," he repeats and kisses her gently on the lips. When they break apart, he reaches up and brushes away her remaining tears with the sleeve of his shirt. "Now go, or you'll never get back, not even for supper."

Westa grabs Wiress gloved hand, puts on her hood and they are gone.

**o0o o0o o0o**

During the fifteen minute walk to the Central Office, Wiress is still preoccupied by the gently falling snow. She catches the flakes with her glove, marvelled at the different shapes of the crystals, asking Westa various questions about them, seemingly wanting to know everything. And the woman answers, happy for the distraction, for her daughter unwittingly leading her mind away from what is going to happen.

Although, as they arrive at the office, Westa has to stop for a while to overcome her fear.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Wiress asks, staring at her with her father's black eyes.

_Be strong._

"No, it's nothing," Westa says. "Let's go inside."

After checking in by the reception desk, they are lead into a small corridor with a few chairs and lots of doors – it isn't a friendly place, and Wiress instantly snuggles closer to Westa. They stop before an office with the nametag "Dr. Iona Heller – Head Examiner, Sector of Talents" on its closed door and wait.

There is no one else besides them, and this only adds to Westa's silent anxiety. She tries to compose herself, for her daughter's sake, but her face is even paler than usual, and she cannot hide the shivers that occasionally run down her spine either. Wiress feels her worry, and, though she really wants to ask some questions on this place as well, she talks about the snow again, happily reciting everything Westa told her, avoiding the topic that seemingly makes her mother so sick. Finally, she can feel the long slender fingers around her small hand relax a bit.

However, the door opens revealing a woman in a long white coat – she is in her forties and wearing a soft smile as she steps to them. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Iona Heller. You must be Mrs. Creever," she says on a kind tone and the two women shake hands.

"Nice to meet you," Westa says quietly.

"And you are Wiress, aren't you?" Dr. Heller crouches down next to the little girl and holds out her hand to her as well. She mimics what Westa has just done, a bit clumsily, and the doctor grins. "How are you today?"

"Curious," Wiress answers, earning a laugh from Dr. Heller.

"That's good, that's good. Now please, come with me into my office and we'll start the tasks right away."

"Um… excuse me, but can I go in with her?" Westa asks, though she already knows the answer.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Creever, but it's forbidden for the parents to be present on their children's examination. You know, it can affect the results."

"Of course…" she nods and sits back onto the chair. Wiress grabs her hand for one last time and give her a brilliant smile.

"Don't worry, mom. I'll do my best."

Little does she know that this is what her mother wants the least.

**o0o o0o o0o**

In the following hour, Wiress is really enjoying herself. First, Dr. Heller puts a few sheets of paper before her and asks her to draw several things – houses, clouds, people and so on. Then she gives her a bunch of funny shaped metal loops that are somehow tangled and her task is to separate them. The doctor calls these toys "disentanglement puzzles", and Wiress likes them, though in the end they start to get really boring because she solves them so quickly.

She has to build a tower from colourful blocks – she has to memorize and recite as many as she can from those fifty random words Dr. Heller reads out for her – she has to go through a maze with a pendulum on a stick that sends a small electric current into her hand if she chooses the wrong path. Wiress fulfils each and every task excellently. Her tower is so solid that only an earthquake can destroy it, she can remember not just every word but even their order and the maze is a piece of cake for her as well. When, as a final task, she assembles a small machine made of plastic parts that works perfectly, Dr. Heller is sure Wiress is a rare gemstone who will definitely have a future.

"This is the end of the examination," the doctor says as she takes some final notes. She has been doing it all the while. "Thank you, Wiress, you did a great job. Now, go back to your mother. I'll tell you the results in twenty minutes."

The little girl smiles proudly and exits the office. "Mom, I'm done!" she says letting Westa hug her tightly. This one hour was pure agony for her – as soon as the door closed behind her daughter, she felt like she would never see her again, never hear her sweet voice. She was biting her nails so hard that blood is still oozing from some of her fingers.

But now, Wiress is here, and Westa's heart calms down a bit.

"It was fun!" she smiles and starts to talk about the tasks eagerly – she only stops when the door opens again and Dr. Heller appears with a stack of papers.

"I have the results of the examination," she says, stepping closer to Westa who stands up, her knees shaking slightly. "Wiress has done every task very well, more than well actually. She has proven to have outstanding abilities in diagnostics, problem solving and visual processing, and her intelligence quotient exceeds the average by far." The doctor smiles down at her. "Practically, she is a child prodigy."

She hands Westa the documents. "Here, you can find the detailed results for each field of the examination. You have to keep these documents, they are necessary for the registration in the Sector of Talents."

That is when it finally hits Westa. "S-so… she passed the test, didn't she?"

Dr. Heller nods. "Of course she did, and I dare to say that she is going to be a top student. You should be really proud of your daughter."

**o0o o0o o0o**

Wiress doesn't understand. They are sitting around the dining table, her father, her mother and her, but she is the only one who is eating. The wrinkles on Géral's forehead are much deeper than in the morning and Westa is crying so much it reminds the little girl of a faucet that somebody forgot to turn off. She has no idea what's wrong, but she suspects that it has to do something with this "examination" and her mother's bad state in the office.

Is it her fault? Has she done something wrong? The pride of fulfilling the tasks well flew away as soon as she saw the look on Westa's face when the doctor announced the results. And what is this "Sector of Talents" anyway? Some kind of school? Wiress wants to ask, but she knows she shouldn't. It seems that Géral does not like that place, and Westa is downright terrified of it.

So the little girl eats her mashed potatoes in silence which is only broken by her mother's quiet sobs.

"Dad, why is mom so sad?" Wiress asks Géral later, when he comes into her small room to tuck her into bed. The man ruffles her hair lovingly.

"Nothing can hide from your attention, little wire," he says. "Don't worry, she is just a bit tired."

Of course, Wiress doesn't believe him, but she nods. "I hope she'll cheer up."

"She will, I'm sure." Géral smiles. "I will bring both of you out on a small trip tomorrow."

Wiress' face lights up. "Really? Where are we going?"

"You'll see it tomorrow. Now sleep, my little wire. Sweet dreams."

**o0o o0o o0o**

It is late evening when the family gets back from the outing and Géral parks the car in front of the block of flats they live in. He glances at Westa who is sitting next to him – though the trip helped her a bit, now she seems to feel worse than ever, threatening to break down at any moment. Géral grabs her hand and kisses it tenderly.

"It's okay," he whispers quietly with a reassuring smile as she looks at him, then they both turn towards their daughter.

Wiress is sitting in the back, playing with a mechanical bird she has just received for her birthday. It was created by Géral himself – silver and brass-coloured gears, screws and pieces of metal make up its body and it stands on legs of thick wire. Its eyes are two blue LEDs that light up when she pushes on a tiny button on the back of the bird. Wiress has never seen anything this beautiful before, she is so fascinated with its details that she hasn't put it down since she received it, not even for a second. This is certainly a present that was worth waiting for.

_She is so small…_ Westa thinks and a tear glides down on her cheek.

Both of them know what is going to happen – they were out for the whole day, so there is probably a group of Peacekeepers waiting in front of their flat already. This is the day of Wiress' fifth birthday and the day when the Sector of Talents is going to take her away from them.

Géral and Westa used to be the students of the Sector as well – after they had passed the examination, they were violently separated from their families at the age of five and were enrolled into this school. Isolated until they turned eighteen, they had no idea about the world while they attended classes in the morning and worked in the evening. The purpose of Sector has always been to select those with congenital intelligence and carve them into useful geniuses to serve the District and Panem.

This is the surface – but underneath it lies such a cruelty that only the former students know. The majority of the Talents break down under the strict schedule, the impossible amount of work and the constant terror that lingers between the walls. The suicide rate is very high – but, of course, nobody knows the exact numbers. The Sector of Talents is the miniature version of the Capitol, which is not surprising since it is mainly run by teachers and officers from there.

"Let's go inside," Westa says softly and they step out of the car. As soon as Wiress hops onto the ground, Géral grabs her effortlessly and sits her onto his shoulders, both laughing happily. A small smile manages to escape onto Westa's lips at this sight.

It is exactly as they predicted – three armed Peacekeepers in white uniforms are standing in front of their apartment. "We have been waiting for you, Mr. Creever. We almost thought that you'd never come back," one of them, a short man says strictly and Géral narrows his black eyes.

"As if we could escape from your watchful eyes, sir," he mutters and unlocks the door of the flat.

"Would you care for a cup of tea? You must have been waiting for such a long time," Westa says with as much fake and bitter hospitality as she can muster without her voice trembling. She wants nothing more than to put poison into their drinks and watch them die a dreadful, disgusting death.

"No, madam, we are ordered to transport Miss Creever to the Sector of Talents today," another Peacekeeper, a woman says on a deep voice.

Wiress, who was already put down onto the floor, startles. _They are going to take me away? Is it because of that test? _She watches that strange, scary woman come closer to her grabbing her hand, but Westa steps between them and shoves her behind her skirt.

"Don't touch my daughter," she hisses. Her grey eyes are glinting with hatred – a mother mockingjay protecting her nest.

But then, the third Peacekeeper pulls out his gun and points it at Westa's temple. "I warn you, madam, any resistance meets with punishment. We advise you to give up your-" However, he cannot finish his sentence, because he drops to his knees as a large wound opens on his stomach. Blood gushes up from it with frightening intensity, soaking the brown carpet.

"Nobody aims a gun at my wife!" Géral exclaims with fury. In his hand, there is a small device he constructed – a metal handle with a button that triggers a laser beam so powerful it can even cut iron.

It all happens in a mere second. A dreadful bang shakes the room and Géral falls down with a large gaping hole on his forehead signalling the place where the bullet entered his head.

"GÉRAL!" Westa screams. She kneels down to him, grabbing his hand that is starting to turn cold. He is dead – the one who always cheered her up, who defeated her darkness with light, who loved her despite of what she really is… a broken, mad woman with no future. Géral has created a future for her… and now, it has been taken away…

_Dead… taken away… darkness… Géral… Géral…_

Westa lunges herself at the other woman who is still holding the gun which killed her husband, and her hands wrap themselves around her temple. With a heartbreaking, almost devilishly insane cry, her thumbs find the Peacekeepers eyes and she puts as much pressure on her fingers as she just can, earning a painful howl as the delicate eyeballs make a horrible popping sound.

The gun fires one more time, and Westa releases the Peacekeeper. She got the bullet from the woman's weapon into her chest, so she doesn't die immediately – she has enough life in her to follow with her eyes as the other male Peacekeeper grabs the utterly terrified Wiress who is in such a shock that she cannot even cry. She watches the man tear the mechanical bird from the little girl's hands and drop it into the pool of blood. She can still see him guide his blinded partner to the door and shut it behind them. And then, she can only hear her own heavy breathing.

"G-Géral…" Westa whispers and she creeps closer to her loved one. Her blood-stained fingers curl around his hand once again, for a last time before her vision blurs and she drifts into eternal peace.

The mechanical bird mourns them in the deafening silence.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 1. :) _

_So how did you like it? Honestly, I feel a bit cruel for killing her parents, but it was necessary for the plot. :( Also, I wanted to give Wiress a different background – that's why I came up with the idea of the Sector._

_Do you think I should continue this? Any constructive criticism is welcomed. :)_


	2. Up in smoke

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 2 – Up in smoke_

**o0o o0o o0o**

Wiress wakes exactly five minutes before the alarm bell that signals the beginning of the day goes off, as always. It is usually still dark outside, so while her eyes adjust to the lack of light, she sits up and runs her fingers through her curly hair, then quickly twists it into a tight bun. She can do that without looking into a mirror – not that she has one in her room anyway. When she hears the alarm, she knows that electricity has been turned back on for the day and she reaches towards her bedside table switching on a small bulb. For a long minute, she basks in its gentle light, imagining sunrays caressing her face, with chirping birds and a spring breeze carrying the smell of flowers. A brief escape from reality.

After that, Wiress gets up from the bed and washes her face in the basin filled with lukewarm water. Her uniform is hanging in her small closet – a white blouse, a grey coat with a matching skirt, black shoes and a copper-coloured ribbon. It is required to attend the lessons in these clothes until noon, when they have to change into a suitable working attire for the factory, a grey jumpsuit and steel-toe boots.

As she buttons up her coat and ties her ribbon, Wiress thinks that this is going to be an ordinary day. School, lunch, then work, return to the dorm and sleep. Yesterday was the same, and the day before yesterday, too. Strict, monotone and dull, but carrying a strange feeling of security – she knows what is going to happen, every minute is scheduled accurately. Nothing can go amiss in the Sector of Talents.

However, tomorrow will be an odd day. Tomorrow will not be a same as today. They are not going to have any classes in the morning – instead, all the students will be lead to the Justice Building and take part in an annual event that everybody hates.

The Reaping. Randomly choosing a girl and a boy to send them into a certain death.

Trying to steer her mind away, Wiress sighs and steps to her desk. Last night she couldn't finish her homework before they cut off electricity, so she left everything scattered on the desktop – notebooks, pencils, her calculator and other stuff. She puts them away into her bag, mentally reminding herself to do that remaining exercise before the lesson.

She runs this day's timetable in her head – an hour of Advanced Mathematics, two hours of Electronic Engineering, then an hour of History and another hour of Engineering Drawing. After the one-hour lunch break, six hours of work. Her class is assigned into Factory 4 today, where they are going to wind wire into coils and sort out screws. The older they get and the more experience they have, the more difficult their job becomes – they can often see fourteenth graders building tiny robots and soldering microchips and first years tidying the floors, the mop often taller than the five-year-old children. Wiress' class, the tenth graders are still too amateur to handle the complicated machinery, but they are at least allowed to be around those who actually do some work besides packaging pieces of metal like them.

The clock on the wall says it's quarter to seven. The first lesson starts at seven o'clock. _Where on earth is she? We're going to be late, _Wiress thinks as she grabs her bag and leaves her room. She walks down the corridor and quickly runs up the stairs to the thirteenth graders' section in the dorm. Several students go in the opposite direction as her, but none of them look at her strangely – they all know Wiress by sight, since her appearance in this floor is almost an everyday routine. A few of them even greet her and Wiress nods back to them as a response.

She stops at a door and knocks. "Lectra? Lectra, are you up? We're going to be late for the first lesson!"

When she only hears a mumble from the other side, Wiress opens the door to find a semi-conscious girl by her desk, still wearing her uniform since yesterday, her face smeared with the graphite of the pencils she used to draw the designs on which she fell asleep. There are books, notes and a flashlight around her chair on the floor with pieces of wire, metal and a lot of other things.

Wiress hurries to her and makes her sit back while the girl groans again. _She must have been studying all night, _she thinks sadly as she grabs a small towel from the basin and starts to clear away the grey smudge. At this, Lectra's eyes start to open gradually.

"Mornin', Wire," she yawns and looks around sleepily. "Damn, it seems like I fell asleep again."

"Yeah, it seems so," Wiress says as she does her best to make Lectra presentable – she unties her ribbon and knots it again, buttons her shirt and smoothes her collar, quickly braids her long black hair and puts her coat onto her shoulders. When she finishes, Lectra is awake enough to collect her stuff for that day into her bag, and five minutes before seven a clock, they are both ready to go.

Normally, it is Lectra who comes to Wiress' room to pick her up, since it is on the route to the school building, but it is becoming more and more often that the older girl oversleeps. The summer finals are coming up, and though Wiress has exams as well, it is indubitably tougher for Lectra.

"When is your next exam?" Wiress asks as they step out the dormitory and head towards the school.

"Next Tuesday. Nanoengineering. With Haward the Horrible." Lectra rolls her brown eyes. "Seriously, that guy's a lunatic, nobody's gonna pass that exam."

Wiress has already heard a lot about Professor Haward – he is definitely not one of Lectra's favourites.

"I'm sure you'll pass," Wiress smiles encouragingly, and Lectra huffs, but a ghost of a half-grin appears on her lips.

"Nano's not my forte, Wire," she says.

Lectra has never been an excellent Talent, but she is actually very smart. She is not that intelligent by nature – she once told Wiress that she barely passed the test when she was little –, but she has worked so hard that she has reached a level that could be called "above average" by now. Wiress respects her for this, although Lectra just laughs. "I only want to take away from them at least this opportunity to bully me," she always says, and by "them", she means the Sector.

When she was younger, Lectra broke the Sector rules countless times, more than she can remember. It was mainly because of her rebellious personality mingled with arrogance, harshness, passion, bluntness and unique sense of justice and the fact that she has always hated the Capitol, the District and the Sector. However, underneath the cruel façade she showed to other people, there was something warm in her that, until now, only Wiress could find and they became best friends despite of being total opposites. Actually, they are more than best friends – the years they spent together created such a strong bond between them that only siblings have. With the influence of Wiress, Lectra slowly stopped giving the Sector more reasons to punish her, and as an exchange, she protected her like an older sister would.

But the Sector doesn't forget, no matter how hard Lectra tries, no matter how deeply Wiress hopes – they still punish her for random things she didn't even commit.

Their purpose is obvious.

In the lobby, the girls stop. "I have Maths in 308," Wiress says and turns to the staircase. Lectra nods.

"Okay, see you at lunch, Wire," she grins and starts to walk towards the corridor on the left.

**o0o o0o o0o**

"Damn it! One'd think that they'll go a bit easier on us, finals and all. But no, why'd they, really?" Lectra fumes as she drops her tray down onto the table. "Prof Ybl wants a bridge model for Thursday. Emerson gave us extra amount of homework, and I have to write an essay for History too. Why on earth do we have to study History anyway? Shit!"

"I'll help you design the bridge," Wiress offers, but Lectra waves.

"No, it's okay. I'll manage. You have your own stuff to do." The older girl grabs a spoon and starts to eat her soup. "Besides, tomorrow's the Reaping. No classes, so I can write the essay after that." She adds with bitter sarcasm, "If the odds are in my favour, that is."

Every year, as the Reaping approaches, Lectra's foul mood and hatred towards the Capitol intensifies. Wiress can understand it very well, and in her own silent way, she shares her friend's loathing for the ones who came up with the idea of the Hunger Games more than half a century ago.

However, as if it is not enough that every child in District 3 between twelve and eighteen is subjected to the possibility to be chosen and forced to kill or be killed in an unknown arena, the Sector of Talents has "special rules" regarding the Reaping. Normally, a child can only increase the number of slips with his or her name by taking the tessera. Sector students are adequately fed – which is probably one of the very few advantages of being a Talent –, so they don't need the extra food. On the other hand, since the children here are exceptionally intelligent, the entire District believes – mistakenly – that they have a higher chance to win than the others – so the names of the eligible Sector students are added twice as many times than the "ordinary" children each year. Two entries for the twelve-year-olds and fourteen for the eighteen-year-olds. The majority of the District 3 tributes used to be from the Sector, including one of the two living Victors.

Also, to make it even worse, the slips are a widely used form of punishment between the walls of the school. One can earn "extra chance" by breaking even the simplest rules, like being late for a class, so there isn't a student who doesn't have at least one additional entry. More major punishments mean more slips, even four or five at the same time. And it doesn't matter if the student is under the age of twelve – collecting can start anytime.

So Lectra always has a _"maybe this is the year" _kind of feeling around the Reaping, since now her name is in the bowl sixty-eight times. As she is seventeen, she is entered twelve times by default, and most of her extras came in for petty rule breakings or recently just without any reason – except for one occasion, when she was thirteen and she committed something so major that it earned her twenty-five slips.

"They will be in your favour," Wiress says with a smile nevertheless. "Don't worry, I think it'll be me this year."

Lectra frowns. "Are you nuts? You only have six slips, plus two from when you _accidentally_ dropped that box of cogs onto Mr. Vieser's leg." She chuckles into her spoon as she remembers the factory supervisor whom everybody hates shouting and spluttering profanities at poor Wiress. His face almost turned into a large plum. After Mr. Vieser had to be hospitalised for three days, Wiress was temporarily proclaimed to be the hero of the factory.

"Hey, it was really an accident!" Wiress pouts and Lectra bursts out laughing so loudly that some people turn towards them. "Don't laugh at me, Lectra!"

"I'm… I'm not laughing…" she mutters between two fits, still barely able to breathe. Wiress shakes her head, but Lectra's laughter is so contagious that she starts to chuckle as well.

Now that she thinks about it, the old bloke really deserved it.

They chat about anything besides the Reaping and the school. Lectra teases Wiress with a boy who was watching her for an especially long time during yesterday's work and she is amused by the way the younger girl blushes into a deep shade of red. She makes fun of various teachers, mimicking them until Wiress almost falls off the chair laughing. By the time they finish their meals, Lectra's mood lightens up a bit.

"We're assigned to Factory 2 today, so we can't meet, only in the evening," she says in front of the dormitory. "At our secret place at ten? It's Monday, so it should be okay."

"Alright," Wiress nods.

"Well, see you then," Lectra smiles and pats her head lovingly before she runs off to her room to change. Wiress just stands there for a long second, and though she is glad that she could help her best friend cheer up, as she watches her disappear, a strange blackness forms in her heart. The bad, suffocating feeling of apprehension.

**o0o o0o o0o**

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the dorm supervisor is Leonard Quake, a large – but short – middle-aged man with a balding head. He usually sits in a large armchair all day and watches a dozen of monitors that show the various corridors of the building. His job is especially important after the curfew at nine o'clock, because students are forbidden to leave their rooms after the electricity is cut off for the night.

However, Leonard is not a strict man, at least not to his favourites – this is why he turns away exactly at that moment when a door opens on the thirteenth graders' floor and another one on the tenth graders'. _Those two've snuck out so many times these years that they'd have enough slips to fill that bloody glass bowl._

But everyone has their own favourites, don't they?

**o0o o0o o0o**

"Good old Leo is still on our side," Lectra grins as she pulls out a small paper box and a tiny lighter from the pocket of her nightgown. She opens the pack and draws out a thin roll of paper filled with some special dried leaves – a so-called "cigret" imported from District 11.

In the always polluted air of District 3, people do not care about the health of their lungs, so a lot of them smoke cigret, even though it is highly addictive. As a minor, Lectra would be punished if they found her pack, but somehow, she manages to hide it well – along with the smell which Wiress actually likes. Its smoothness reminds her of Lectra and it calms her.

"Start it for me?" the older girl asks dropping the cigret and the lighter into Wiress' hand. She lights it while taking a small drag, then gives it back to Lectra who immediately puts it into her mouth. This is their own secret ritual.

Minutes pass, and they stare out into the night watching the smoke carried away by the wind. It dissolves before it can reach the barbed wire fence marking the boundaries of the Sector. The fire escape on which they are standing is well-hidden, but no one would see them anyway, so they are not afraid of getting caught.

Somehow, even without saying, Wiress knows what Lectra is thinking about. She knows that her mind is on the Reaping again and how the odds are not in her favour. The nice mood that lingered around them during lunch-time has disappeared, and the way Lectra takes long, almost distraught drags from the cigret, Wiress can feel that her best friend does not have enough power to recreate it.

The darkness strengthens the fears of even the bravest person in the world.

"You know," Wiress starts as she lifts her head and closes her eyes. "It'd be nice to be a bird."

"You know, you're such a hopeless romantic," Lectra says and smirks. "It's not coincidental that we can't see any birds here, Wire. The air is so bad that they all died. No bird can live in such a filthy place." The bitterness in her voice is so evident that Wiress immediately regrets what she said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It was just a silly thought. Sorry."

Lectra is quiet for a long second, then she says, "I'd be a blackbird, if I had the chance to reborn."

Wiress looks at her. "A blackbird? But they can't even fly away too far."

Lectra nods, "Yeah, I know, but I wouldn't want to fly away. I'd rather stay. To watch over those I love. Not a bad destiny, huh?"

This is what breaks through the wall, and Wiress' black eyes are filled with tears – because she immediately knows that she is talking about her. "B-but you're not planning t-to turn into a blackbird soon, a-are you?" she stammers.

Lectra really wants to say something encouraging, but she cannot think of anything that could make Wiress' tears stop. Not now, when she would like to cry as well.

So she just steps to the younger girl and wraps her arms protectively around her. The cigret in her hand slowly burns to a stub, the ash gingerly falls down to the ground.

"If you get…" Wiress whispers after her sobs calmed a bit. "If you get reaped, Lectra, I'll v-volunteer for you."

The blood runs cold in Lectra's veins. "No. I won't let you."

"B-but you've done so much for me…"

Lectra grabs her shoulder and looks straight into her eyes. "And so have you for me, much more than I could ever deserve. You don't own me anything. But if you volunteer for me, then I will _never _forgive you, Wiress. Understood?"

Lectra rarely uses her proper first name, and when she does it means that there is no room for argument. It only adds to the enormous impact of her words that makes Wiress feel like she has just been kicked in the stomach.

_Why are you so stubborn?_

"Yes…" she mutters and glances away from the brown eyes still boring into hers.

"Then say it!"

Wiress takes a shaky breath. "I won't volunteer for you."

_Why?_

**o0o o0o o0o**

"Lectra Torwell!"

It is terrible how quickly one's world can crash down and break into millions of tiny pieces – a mere second is enough to end it all. It is no use to hope, no use to pray. When it is gone, it is gone forever, and there is nothing to do about it.

Wiress cannot breathe. It is like an invisible hand is starting to choke her cutting the air to her lungs. She wants to cry out, she wants to step forward and exclaim _"I volunteer,"_ but she cannot move. She stands rooted to the concrete in the group of fourteen-year-old girls and all she can do is to desperately wish that this is just a nightmare. _I'll wake up. I'll wake up soon. What is the method again? Pinching my arm?_

But she cannot wake up, because this is the reality.

Wiress watches Lectra walking to the stage and standing beside Rufus, the colourful Capitol escort who comes every year. Her brown eyes are frozen with hatred as he pats her on the shoulder and goes to draw the boy tribute's name. When she scans the crowd and finds her best friend, Lectra's lips curve into an almost smug, bitter smirk as if she is saying _"I told you it'd be me"_.

However, Wiress catches a glimpse of her hands when she moves to hide them behind her back – and they are trembling.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 2. :)_

_How did you like Lectra? She's probably the most important OC in this whole fic, so I tried my best to make her interesting. The following two chapters are going to be about her Games – with Wiress' eyes, of course. I've always been really interested in how it'd be to _watch_ the Games, because we all know what it's like to participate in them. _

_So let me know what you think. I like reviews. :)_


	3. White lie

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 3 – White lie_

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Something wakes Wiress up long before the alarm goes off, and when she opens her eyes, her heart almost stops at the sight of the bloody girl lying on the other bed. She doesn't move besides breathing, but even that causes her extreme pain seemingly, her blood is painting the grey sheets red. _

_She gulps – she is terrified of blood, but she has to help her, because no one else will. _

_Wiress gets out of her bed and steps carefully to the unknown girl. Though the smell clenches her stomach, she tries to inspect her injuries – it seems she doesn't have any severe wounds, but she has countless of them, bruises, gashes, scratches. It is like someone had beaten her first, then they cut her with a blade randomly. She notices some strange marks on her wrists._ Handcuffs?

_As she cannot tell whether the girl is conscious or not, Wiress gently touches her shoulder where she isn't wounded and leans closer to her head. "I'll go get something for your injuries. Don't move from here, okay?" she whispers in order not to scare her. The girl lets out a small groan and Wiress turns towards the door. That's when she notices the trail of blood from the entrance to the bed._

_The crimson path continues outside as well, across the corridor and down the stairs. Here and there she can see big pools of blood where the girl must have stopped to gather her strength – Wiress imagines her struggling to keep herself from fainting, and her urge to help doubles as she runs. _

_She stops when she reaches the dorm supervisor's room and knocks on the door._

_"Come in!" a deep male voice says and Wiress enters._

_"Mr. Quake," she starts but has to pause to catch her breath. "Can I borrow your first aid kit?"_

_The large man looks at her curiously. "And what do you need that for, Creever?"_

_Wiress knows Leonard is just teasing her – it can't be that he hasn't noticed the red trail leading to her room yet. "There's a girl with injuries in my room. I want to help her."_

_"Then why don't you take her to the doctor?"_

_"I can handle it. And she is in pain, I don't think I could drag her to the doctor." Wiress stops and her voice is lower when she adds, "Besides, her injuries are strange. I'm not sure if she wants anyone else to see them."_

_"Are you sure her injuries don't require a pro's treatment?"_

_Wiress nods. "It's nothing some bandages and a few painkillers can't cure." _

_Leonard watches her for a long second, then reaches up for a red box on one of the shelves. "I really hope you're right, Creever."_

Me too.

_When Wiress gets back to her room, she finds the girl staring at the ceiling with emotionless eyes – she looks briefly at her, when she hears the door open and close, then she reverts her glance at the greyness above her. _

_"I brought a first aid kit," Wiress says as she walks to her desk, grabs her chair and carries it to the blood-stained bed. "We have to treat your injuries. Um… do you feel any particular pain anywhere?"_

_The girl looks at her again and lets out a snort. "Everywhere?" she mutters sarcastically and starts to lift herself, but Wiress gently pushes her back onto the mattress._

_"Stay still," she orders and the other obeys._

_"Alright, Miss Doctor. It fucking hurts anyway. My chest."_

_Wiress removes the ruins of the undershirt the girl is wearing. Several other wounds adorn her chest, including a bad bruise on the right side that probably indicates a broken rib, because as she gingerly brushes the tip of her finger over it, the girl yelps in pain. "Sorry," Wiress says and she reaches for the kit to find the painkiller. "Here, take these."_

_The girl swallows two of the pills and the effect is instant – her breathing slows down and her face turns calmer. "Wow… this is some strong stuff."_

_The following hour is spent disinfecting gashes, cleaning away the dried blood, putting ointment on the bruises, searching for more broken bones and bandaging everything that can be bandaged. When Wiress is ready, she helps the girl get up very carefully and take two steps to her own bed where she lays her down onto the clean sheets. _

_The sound of the alarm fills the morning, and Wiress sighs. She doesn't really want to leave this girl alone. "I have to go," she says. "Try to sleep, okay?"_

_She looks at Wiress and for a long second, she is just inspecting her in silence. "What's your name, Miss Doctor?" she finally asks, her brown eyes never leaving her._

_"Um… my name is Wiress."_

_"Thanks, Wiress," she says and a small smile appears on her lips. "I'm Lectra."_

**o0o o0o o0o**

Clinging onto her for dear life is the only thing she can do. If she refuses to let her go, maybe they will not take her away. They cannot do that, can they?

They can.

But it doesn't matter at this very moment. As long as she can feel her hand stroking her hair, the faint smell of the cigret still lingering around her from last night, the warmth of her body, she knows that she is here. Even if only temporarily, she is here.

"Well," Lectra says suddenly. "I guess I don't have to write that History essay after all."

Though she is trying to joke, it is ruined by her voice cracking and a tear silently running down on her cheek.

Wiress doesn't say a word – she is incapable of doing anything but crying and holding onto the older girl, the most important person in her life. The cruel tick-tocking of the clock reminds them that time is slipping away with each second, like sand between their fingers. And for them, even the most precious diamond is as worthless as an ordinary stone compared to time.

Finally, it's Lectra's voice that breaks the silence again, "I have to confess you something that you probably already know. Do you remember the day we first met?"

Wiress nods. Of course, she would never forget it. Lectra continues, "Ever since that day, I've been haunted by a thought constantly. That was the day when I realised that somehow, they'd find a way to kill me."

She gently peels Wiress' arms away from her waist and makes her look into her eyes. "You know their favourite proverb: "The nail that sticks out gets hammered down". I was sticking out even before my attempt to escape, but when I fled and they caught me and beat me into a bloody pulp and gave me those extras… well, I guess that was the moment they decided that I'm dangerous."

"I'm scared," she adds after a short pause. "Despite acting all cold and negligent, I'm terrified. I don't want to die. But then again, maybe it's better this way. If I die, they won't hurt you because of me either."

"Lectra…" Wiress whispers, her voice weak from crying. "If you win… if you win the Games then they won't hurt you… They can't hurt a Victor… I know you can win, you're so strong… so please…"

_If only I were as strong as you think, Wire, _Lectra wants to say, but she doesn't have the courage. Not under Wiress' desperate black eyes. "Maybe," she mutters and turns to stare out of the window. The familiar crowded square in front of the Justice Building seems to be a distant, unreachable place. _Winning is not an option for me._

Wiress understands though – but knowing the truth is not the same as accepting it. "Please, Lectra… do your best. Come home…" Denial is easier. Much easier.

Lectra does not look into her eyes as a promise that she already knows she will never be able to fulfil leaves her lips, "I'll come back. As a Victor. And then, I won't let them hurt us anymore."

Not all the lies are bad. Some of them can give hope to carry on. A glimpse of that hope shimmers on Wiress' face at Lectra's words – a faint sunbeam breaking through the storm clouds.

"You don't have a district token, right?" Wiress says on a much calmer tone and slips her hand into the pocket of her coat. She takes out a small piece of copper wire, quickly weaves it into a small loop and places it in Lectra's palm. "Here."

Lectra looks at the loop for a moment, then reaches up to her right ear. A long time ago, she pierced it herself, to show that she was not like the other students clad in the same uniform, walking in the same pace, wearing the same expression, having the same thoughts. But now, she honestly wishes she could be one of them.

She carefully pokes the wire through the hole in her earlobe and secures it with a few twists. "Thank you, Wire," she smiles for the first time since that smirk on the stage.

Suddenly, the door opens and a Peacekeeper steps into the room to take Wiress away. "Time's up," he barks without any emotion. However, for the last time, Lectra grabs the smaller girl and hugs her tightly.

"No matter what you see on the screen, please, don't break down, okay? No matter what I do… remember, it's not me."

Wiress lifts her head and places a kiss on Lectra's cheek. "I know. I know you, Lectra. Take care and come home."

Lectra cannot answer. She just stares after her best friend as the Peacekeeper separates them and drags her out of the room. When the door is slammed behind them, she breaks into tears.

**o0o o0o o0o**

Wiress and the Sector students are allowed to stay on the square and watch on the large screens as the two tributes of District 3, along with the two mentors and Rufus get onto the silver train that will take them to the Capitol. Before they depart, the cameramen ask Lectra and the boy to stand in front of the window and wave goodbye to the crowd.

For a long minute, Lectra's overly sweet smile is almost frightening – it's clearly fake, along with those kisses she blows into the air. But then, something happens.

The smile disappears from Lectra's lips and an emotionless expression takes its place. She reaches and tears down the copper-coloured ribbon from her neck, then holds it out for everybody to see. With her other hand, she fishes out her lighter from her pocket and with a swift motion she sets the ribbon on fire.

The tension is tangible on the square, especially in the group of the students. Nobody would ever consider such a major crime as purposely ruin the uniform, at least not between the barbed wired walls of the Sector. _But she's not in the Sector anymore, she can do what she wants_, Wiress thinks as she watches Lectra throw the burning ribbon out the open window and it lands at the feet of the cameramen. A really strange emotion starts to grow in her heart – happiness.

The Sector was destroying Lectra, but she will never have to return. Never. In one way or another, she will be free.

**o0o o0o o0o**

Since the Sector of Talents doesn't have any community room or places where the students can gather, they always watch the Hunger Games in the dining hall. Their working hours are reduced to three hours between one and four o'clock, and after that they are given an hour to prepare for the following day. At five o'clock, everybody goes to the dining hall for the recaps.

That evening, though Wiress tries to inspect all the tributes while watching the programme on the Reapings, in the end she can only recall a few of them. Both the boy and the girl from District 1 are blonde and beautiful. The District 2 tributes look fierce. The boy from District 5 has lavender eyes. The girl from District 8 radiates a very warm, reassuring aura and has a gentle smile. The District 12 kids are terribly young and malnourished.

Seeing Lectra called to the stage again is as painful as for the first time, but Wiress notices that her attitude is perfect. Despite of her short height, the powerful emotions on her face and the smirk make her a tribute who should not be underestimated. She is almost as intimidating as the Careers.

Her male counterpart is a Sector student, too – he is that boy who was staring at Wiress during work. For a second, she feels sorry for him, but then she remembers that he is Lectra's enemy as well. He is short, black-haired and scrawny, and his necktie is crooked. No impression – Wiress doesn't even remember his name.

After they show the tributes, the narrator introduces the mentors. There have been only two Victors for years, so the woman doesn't waste too many words on them – everybody knows them anyway.

The older one, Nostra Kant always frightens Wiress. He is taller and more muscular than the majority of the men in District 3 and his eyes are dark like bottomless wells. His Games were famously bloody and he won because he turned out to be a well-oiled killing machine. He is the mentor of the boy tribute, but by the look on his face he would rather have Lectra, who is mentored by Beetee Heller.

Beetee represents the mistaken idea of the District, because he is the only Victor so far who used to be a Sector student despite how many of them have been sent to the arena. Every time Wiress hears his surname, it triggers a faint memory in her head, a picture of a white lab coat, but she cannot place it, so she lets the feeling drift away.

Wiress remembers his victory from several years ago – he electrocuted the Careers with a trap he constructed in the middle of a pine forest. Although it was a mystery how he could do it, it was effective. She thinks that Beetee has a streak of insanity which occasionally appears. Like a mad scientist. But at least most of the time, he is not scary at all, contrary to Nostra – he even looks comical often as he has the habit of peering under his glasses.

They show the departure of each pair of tributes and, to Wiress' surprise, they didn't cut out Lectra burning the ribbon. As a matter of fact, instead of regarding it as something unforgivable, the reporter actually squeals in excitement saying, "What an attitude! District 3 has a really _fiery_ girl this year!" and she giggles at her own joke. Wiress smiles to herself. If the Capitol people get to like Lectra, she will have sponsors and thus an even higher chance to survive. _It's enough to feel depressed. Let's just hope for the best._

This thought follows her until she goes to bed and falls asleep. _After all, she promised she would come home._

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 3. :)_

_Hurray for Beetee who finally managed to appear. :D From now on, every chapter is going to have some Beetee in it, so stay tuned. :)_

_Also, the updates are going to speed up – hopefully –, because after two entire months of suffering, my finals are officially over tomorrow, so I'll have more time to write. Not that my exams could keep me from writing – which is clearly visible in my results. :D Anyway, there is a great difference between "writing fanfiction legally" and "writing fanfiction while pretending to be studying Philosophy". :D_

_So, as usual, I'll ask you to tell me what you think. Reviews are like cookies for my soul. :)_


	4. Wings of silver

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 4 – Wings of silver_

**o0o o0o o0o**

In District 3, they often say that the chariot ride is like sprinkling glitter on withered flowers. Every year they try to make it more grandiose than the previous year, but even the magnificent dresses, beautiful hairdos and perfect make-ups cannot hide the fact this parade is the overture of a bloody game in which twenty-three children will die.

However, they have to admit that the chariot ride is probably the most enjoyable event in the Hunger Games. Nobody dies after all, and the majority of the stylists is indeed talented. The hosts, Caesar Flickerman – whose hair and lips are gold this year – and Claudius Templesmith comment everything with such an enthusiasm like they are head over heels with every tribute, and though their detailed blabbering can become boring really soon, they try their best to say something nice about everyone.

Wiress doesn't pay attention – she only turns on her hearing when the District 3 chariot appears pulled by two black horses and she joins the chain of gasps in the dining room.

"I think District 3 girl stylist, Fatime Leroy has created something spectacular this year as well," Caesar says after he overcomes his surprise and Claudius nods approvingly.

"Well, she's not considered to be the best tribute stylist for nothing, is she?"

Lectra is stunning. She stands straight next to the boy, her face reflecting no emotion at the cheers they are getting from every direction. Her hair is towered onto the top of her head in an elegant fashion and there is a silver tiara of gears and metal laced into her locks. Her make-up is simple and enhances the brown of her eyes. She is wearing a sleeveless dress decorated with small silver-coloured plates and gloves that reach up to her elbows. A short cape made of what seems to be a heap of scrap metal is resting on her shoulders – it looks strange at first, but as the chariot reaches the middle of the road, something miraculous happens.

The pieces of metal move away from Lectra's body on their own and the cape turns into a pair of wings. The audience goes mad at seeing the transformation and starts to chant "District 3" in awe while the hosts are practically speechless. As the camera shows a closer picture of Lectra's back, Wiress sees that her dress drops to her waist and her first thought is that it looks like they implanted the razor sharp wings onto her spine, because nothing attaches them to the shimmering material.

_Ethereal and deadly. _

"Majestic! Absolutely wonderful!" Caesar exclaims and claps his hands. "I have to say, my dear Claudius, that Miss Torwell's costume is the best one this year."

"We haven't even seen everyone, Caesar. But I admit that this was a rather memorable entrance indeed."

"It was more than memorable. I suspect that there are some sponsors already who are willing to take Miss Torwell under their metal wings."

**o0o o0o o0o**

The following two days are eventless, because the cameras are not allowed into the training. Instead, they show a few rather propagandistic shots on each District, only enough to present that life is perfect everywhere, then some memorable moments from the earlier Hunger Games and short interviews with the Victors. Of course, the Sector students have to watch these as well, and Wiress is glad that a long time ago she mastered a method to steer her mind away from the screen.

She thinks about Lectra. So far, her chances are pretty good, they see her as a tribute with attitude and according to the experts, she might be able to win or at least get into the top eight. Wiress wonders what she will do on the last day of the training when they have to perform in front of the Gamemakers. She knows Lectra is smart enough not to neglect the survival skills, but what weapon is she practicing with? Knives? Or spears?

On the third day, the announcement of the training scores is preceded by another interview, this time with the mentors. Nostra Kant is practically bursting with envy for not having Lectra, but he doesn't say anything bad about the boy tribute either, even if only out of politeness.

"He's a reliable kid, keeps the advices and learns quickly," he says.

Beetee is a bit fidgety when the interviewer turns to him, because he knows that the entire Panem is paying attention to his every word – they want to hear more about Lectra.

"Without doubt, District 3 tribute girl Lectra Torwell is one of the most interesting participants this year," the woman starts smiling. "Mr. Heller, what was your first impression when you met Lectra?"

"I knew she would be a hard nut to crack. And she immediately proved that I was right." There's a faint chuckling in the circle of mentors before Beetee goes on. "Lectra is headstrong and a bit opinionated, but probably the most powerful tribute we had in years."

"So you think she has the chance to become a Victor?"

"What kind of mentor would I be if I said no?"

More chuckling from the others. Despite his slight nervousness, he chooses his words very well.

"That's true. Anyway, I'm sure you have some kind of strategy for the Games. You surprised everyone eight years ago with your victory – can we expect some surprise from Lectra as well?"

"Sometimes even I don't have the slightest idea about what is going on in her head, so probably the answer is yes," Beetee says with a half-smile. "I know one thing for sure though – she will do anything she can to win."

And about an hour later, Beetee's words seem to be supported by the training score of 10 that flashes under Lectra's picture.

**o0o o0o o0o**

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me present you the angel from the silver sky, Lectra Torwell!"

The ovation Lectra receives is shaking the ground like an earthquake even on the other side of the screen. Wiress is sitting at her usual spot in the dining hall and wishes she could be there with her – it has been only three days since she last saw her, but it felt like an eternity. For years, they met every day.

Her dress is a strapless emerald-coloured piece. It follows the shape of her body to her thighs where the material breaks into a skirt of multiple layers, each frill wavering independently as she walks to the middle of the stage. She is wearing a copper brooch of a pair of wings on her chest and, to Wiress' delight, as she brushes her hair behind her right ear, she spots the makeshift wire earring, her district token.

"Good evening," she says after the audience calms down and she sits into the armchair. Her expression doesn't betray any emotion.

"Good evening, Lectra," Caesar greets her and jumps into the questions without any ado. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? You came from a very special part of District 3, the Sector of Talents. Can you please tell us a few words about it?"

"Well, it's basically a boarding school where we learn a lot of subjects like Mathematics and various fields of engineering. We have classes in the morning and work in the afternoon, seven days a week."

Caesar's eyes widen. "Seven days a week? So you have no time to go outside and play?"

Lectra shakes her head. "Not at all."

"And what about your family? You can't meet them either?"

"Actually I haven't seen them for twelve years. When they visited me after I was reaped, I could hardly recognize my brother, and my own little sister didn't know me, because she was still in my mother's womb when I was five and they took me to the Sector."

The audience collectively gives out a mumble of dissatisfaction, so Caesar quickly regains the lead before it can go further. "It is really sad indeed, but you seemed to cope with it brilliantly. When you were standing on the stage after your name was called and when you bid farewell to your home – which brings me to my next question. Burning your ribbon, did it have a meaning or you just acted on impulse?"

The first signs of an emotion appear on Lectra's face – her eyes narrow slightly and her lips curve into a small smile. "You know, in District 3, there are no cemeteries. We can't bury the dead, because there's concrete everywhere. So we cremate them and keep the ashes in urns, usually at home or in a place called Remembrance Office. The ribbon meant to represent my past – and me burning it meant that I left my past behind."

While the audience presents this answer with a round of applause, Wiress inspects Lectra's unchanging expression and notices by the look in her eyes that this probably wasn't the whole truth. If she didn't know Lectra hated the Sector, she would believe her.

"That was a really memorable departure, and I'd bet that half of the audience noticed you at that moment. The other half fell in love with you during the chariot ride."

A smirk, similar to the one on her Reaping appears on Lectra's lips. "Interesting. I had no intention of making them love me."

Caesar laughs. "They love you anyway. Now, about your costume – I think we are all very curious about how Fatime attached the wings onto your back and how could you make them move?"

"I don't think I should give Fatime's secret techniques away, but I assure everyone that I didn't need a surgery. See?" She turns to show her back to the cameras, lifts her hair and there is no sign of scars on her spotless skin. The audience gasps in surprise. "They were heavy though, and I was thinking about what'd happen if I accidentally stabbed my poor partner or myself to death. It'd be hard to replace either of us now."

"You would be hard to replace even if you didn't wear a pair of lethal metal wings. Well then, I think time is almost over, so I will ask you one more question. Beetee said in the mentors' interview that you would do anything for the victory. Let's suppose you win – what are you going to do after the Games?"

Lectra thinks for a while and her eyes soften. Wiress remembers the first time she saw this gentleness in the brown orbs, right after she finished bandaging her wounds on that fateful day years ago, and she immediately knows her mask of harshness falls away for a while.

"Well," she says. "I've never had a life you'd call easy. It was my fault. However, one day, I met someone who was similar yet different – she had a hard life, too, but it wasn't her fault. I promised this someone to go home as a Victor and create a carefree, happy life for ourselves. Because we deserve it."

This is the real Lectra, and Wiress doesn't even notice the streams of tears running down on her cheeks, only as she snaps back to reality with the sound of the horn. Caesar stands up, holds out his hand for Lectra to take it and leans to place a kiss onto her fingers. "May the odds help you to achieve your wonderful goal. Lectra Torwell from District 3!"

Before she walks back to her seat, Lectra looks straight into the camera for one last time and Wiress can almost feel the scent of her cigret in her nose.

She is here. She will always be here with her.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Crying… rain of blood… corpses, familiar and unfamiliar people… whiteness… cold and fear… her best friend with her chest ripped open…_

Sometimes, even if you decide something, your mind would do anything to work against you. Wiress decided to push away all her doubts in Lectra's return – her mind answers with a nightmare that shakes her determination and crushes the faint happiness she felt when she watched her departure. She prays to find some life in the debris of her hopes, in vain.

Though nightmares are not real, the feelings they evoke can have a devastating impact that, embraced in darkness, hurts much more.

"Everything will be alright… everything will be alright…" Wiress whispers again and again, as if repeating this sentence could chase away the bad dreams. "Everything will be alright…"

Morning finds her curled up under her blanket, escaped into a dreamless sleep with her tears still flowing like a river that no matter how hard it tries, it can never reach the ocean.

**o0o o0o o0o**

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the 54th Annual Hunger Games begin!" And then, the timer goes off.

With each second, Wiress feels like more and more hope is being drained from her. They show an aerial picture of the arena, and it certainly doesn't help her panic either.

It is a mountain that seems like it has been recently hit by a forest fire. For a girl who grew up in District 3 and spent her life in the jungle of concrete only seeing nature in books, this place is a nightmare. The Cornucopia stands in the middle of a small bare plateau with the twenty-four tributes around it. There are only two directions to escape – uphill on the steep mountainside or down with the risk of falling into the pitch-black abyss.

Thirty seconds. The cameras are now directed at each tribute. Lectra's eyes are focused on the mouth of the Cornucopia and from that determined half-smile, Wiress knows she will go for the treasure and she won't suffice with the cheaper bags scattered around. Maybe she will get a weapon, too. No, she is sure that she is going to have a weapon.

The other tributes are not as confident as the Careers or Lectra. The lavender-eyed boy of District 5 is bundle of nerves, he cannot control the shivers that shake his body. The District 8 girl can barely hold back her tears, but the atmosphere around her is still warm. Her hands are in a strange position, resting on her belly. The large boy from District 10 is an exception though – he looks too calm for a tribute of a district that doesn't breed many Victors either.

Five seconds. Four… three… two…

_No!_

The sound of the gong echoes in the mountain and they run.

Lectra is fast – surprisingly fast. She reaches the Cornucopia at the same time as the first Career tributes arrive, and before they could notice her, she has already grabbed a weapon placed quite deep in the mouth of the horn among stacks of knives and spears. It is a strange object unlike anything Wiress has ever seen – two sticks made of some dark wood, each approximately forty centimetres long and they are connected with a short, thick chain at one end. It doesn't look deadly compared to the long sword that is lying next to it and Wiress wouldn't even consider it as a real weapon, until Lectra quickly turns a metal ring on each stick and a pair of sharp spikes pop out of the handles.

"Don't let her get away with that!" the boy from District 2 shouts at the girl from District 4 as he is busy with fighting off another tribute and the others still hasn't arrived yet. His companion reacts too slowly though – Lectra is already leaving the Cornucopia with the weapon in her hand and a middle-sized bag on her back. Nevertheless, she grabs a short sword and runs after her.

Again, the camera shows an aerial shoot on the bloodbath. The majority of the tributes are trying to escape uphill, no one is so stupid to go for the abyss. Since they cannot hide from each other, they climb with as much distance as they can allow, probably hoping that as soon as they reach the top, there will be a forest. Wiress sighs – there is nothing waiting for them.

Meanwhile, the District 4 girl reaches Lectra and the camera zooms back onto them anticipating more action. She collides with her and they both fall onto the ground with a thud. When they stand up, they are facing each other and the girl lifts the sword.

Wiress can hardly keep herself from covering her eyes when Lectra dodges the attack, and a second later another. She barely misses one though, and her opponent manages to cut her lightly on the side of her neck. However, as the girl seems to slow down a bit, Lectra snaps out of the defence mode and grabbing one of the handles with a firm hand, she swings the other stick with as much strength as she can gather. The wood meets her right arm with a loud crack, and the District 4 girl lets out a shriek of pain.

She falls onto her knees and reaches for the sword that she dropped, but Lectra kicks the weapon away. Before her enemy at her feet could have the time to look up at her either with hatred or despair, the stick crashes into her skull. There is no blood – but from the way the girl collapses like a rag doll, it is indubitable that her cannon will be fired at the end of the bloodbath.

There is a faint murmur around Wiress between the students, but she doesn't try to make out their words. Several feelings are competing in her heart – happiness and a renewed hope that her best friend is willing to fight, astonishment at her abilities, but also shock and sadness, because Lectra's eyes have changed into the cold eyes of a killer.

All the Career tributes has finished the massacre and they are sorting out the supplies from the Cornucopia – all, except two boys who are starting to find it strange that the cannons haven't been sounded yet and separate from the others to search for survivors still lingering around. They are the tributes from District 4 and – for some mysterious reason – 10. It explains his lack of anxiety during the countdown though.

As they circle the Cornucopia, they immediately spot Lectra with a sword and that strange weapon in her hands, their dead ally in front of her, and for a mere second they are just staring at each other. Then, Lectra breaks into a dash again.

She is not running towards the hill, as Wiress expects, but to the chasm. She outruns the large boys and reaches the edge far before them – she looks down and her eyes widen. She must have expected cliffs or the sea or something, but definitely not that bottomless blackness which stares back threateningly at her.

Wiress' heart clenches. Darkness is Lectra's greatest fear.

She looks visibly unsure, but the Careers are approaching her too fast to be distracted by doubts. She prods the ground with her shoes and lets out a tiny sigh of relief. The boys are only a few metres away from her when she turns, gives them a middle finger with her hand that holds the sword, then grabs onto her weapons and takes a step back.

Wiress' heart practically stops when she sees Lectra throwing herself into the abyss. The camera shows the dumbfounded faces of the two Careers as they look at each other and walk cautiously to the edge.

Finally, the first in the long line of cannons shakes the air and the invisible hand starts to choke Wiress again.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 4. :)_

_First of all – sorry, I lied. :D I did my best to fit Lectra's Games into two chapters, I really did, but I failed, because there is going to be one more chapter to conclude her story. I hope you don't mind it though. :)_

_Her costume and her wings were inspired by the anime 'Saikano', which I recommend by the way, if you like extremely sad romance stories between a human guy and an ultimate weapon girl in the time of a bloody war._

_Let me know what you think. :) Your comments are little sparks of happiness in my heart… wow, this sounds even sappier than the last one. XD_


	5. Alliance in the time of death

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 5 - Alliance in the time of death_

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Special thanks to __motherbirdnerd__ for her support and kind words. :) Thank you._

**o0o o0o o0o**

"Creever! CREEVER!" At Mr. Vieser's voice, Wiress snaps back to reality. "Why aren't you working?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Wiress mutters and turns back to the large stack of gears waiting to be sorted. She ignores the piteous looks from her fellow students sitting around her. It makes her want to cry.

The sound of the cannons is still echoing in her head. There were nine – nine tributes, nine children, nine corpses. And her best friend is one of them.

Wiress cannot see what she is doing through her tears, she is working like a robot on auto-pilot. Her mind is somewhere else, in a place where Lectra is not dead, where they are not imprisoned between barbed wire fences, where she smiles at her and asks her to start her cigret…

_I hate you so much! Why did you have to die?_

**o0o o0o o0o**

At five o'clock, Wiress has to force herself to go to the dining hall for the recaps of the bloodbath. If they found her in her room, she would be punished – she wouldn't care about that, but after punishing her, they would drag her down to watch anyway.

Caesar and Claudius greet everyone in an annoyingly overexcited way. Wiress would give anything to be able to turn them off and hide from what is coming.

"My dear Claudius, you have to agree that this year's bloodbath was extremely _stunning._"

Claudius nods, "I agree. With the terrain combined with the ferocity of the Career tributes, it really turned out to be interesting."

"Also, some of our contestants are more cunning than we could have ever imagined," Caesar adds on a secretive tone as if he knew everything in the world. "But before we watch the memorable moments of the bloodbath, let's see what the remaining tributes are doing now!"

They show the survivors one by one. Both of the tributes from District 1 and 2 are in the small camp that the Careers set up next to the Cornucopia and they are having a dinner sitting around the fire. Their own boy tribute is curled up behind a boulder sleeping. Wiress is preparing herself to see the disgusting contentment of the Careers again, when instead of the District 4 boy, the camera is directed at a dark figure sitting on the edge of a cliff staring at the night sky with a tired gaze.

Lectra.

Wiress cannot believe her eyes and she has to pinch herself to check if this is not a dream, but the gasps of awe and the murmurs coming from the others prove that she is not sleeping. "How can she live?" "I thought she jumped off." "Wow, amazing…"

_She's alive! _Wiress thinks and nothing else matters to her. Even the hosts' voice doesn't annoy her that much anymore. _Lectra is alive!_

"Our angel had a very tough day today, didn't she?" Claudius says chuckling.

"Yes, her performance has put even the strongest Career to shame, I must say."

There is not much light, Wiress can't see whether Lectra has any injuries except for the wound on her neck from the bloodbath, but if she has, they can't be that serious. She could climb up onto that rock after all.

Just as she wishes she could watch Lectra forever, they switch onto the District 4 tribute boy by the Cornucopia. They leave out her girl counterpart though – and the lavender-eyed boy from District 5 as well. _What could've happened to him? _Wiress wonders.

On the other hand, the District 8 girl is still alive. She is sitting in a small crack between two boulders, her eyes are filled with tears as her hands are resting on her belly. She is doing something that probably no tribute has ever done in the arena before – she is singing a lullaby.

_Starry sky, I beg you, please tell me,  
Where could my only loved one be?  
It's a dangerous road you are taking,  
It's a dangerous road I am taking,  
But you will find your way back home  
And I will find my way back home…_

Even Caesar and Claudius fall silent as they watch her. Her song is quiet, almost inaudible – still, it reaches everybody's heart and wraps itself around them like a warm, soft blanket. Wiress notices that she is surprisingly calm and peaceful. _Everything will be alright._

"Sweet little Cecelia," Caesar sighs before they go on to the next tribute.

The last person they show is the girl from District 10, which means that both of the tributes of District 11 and 12 lost their lives in the bloodbath. Wiress remembers how tiny and young those two kids were, and she silently prays that they will rest in peace.

"And now, time for the best moments of the Cornucopia bloodbath!" Caesar announces excitedly, and the screen switches onto the well-known aerial shoot of the plateau.

They show each and every death, analyzing them in detail. Claudius tells the audience that Lectra's instrument is a so-called "nunchaku", an ancient weapon originating from an island called Japan – the place was destroyed by a tidal wave several centuries ago. According to him, it is not a popular weapon among the tributes, they underestimate its strength and power, even though in the hands of a talented fighter, it can become as lethal as a sword. Lectra proves this herself by killing the District 4 girl with it.

Meanwhile, Cecelia tries her best to escape uphill, and nobody really cares about her. Without a weapon, she means no threat to the Careers who are too busy slaughtering those tributes that are approaching the Cornucopia. The District 1 girl throws her spear into the heart of the boy of District 7 from twenty metres. The girl from District 9 blindly stabs a boy in the stomach with a knife, only to be practically decapitated by a Career lurking behind her. Another girl loses her _leg_ in a fight and they leave her there to bleed to death. Wiress is starting to feel sick, especially when she sees the small District 12 boy on the ground struggling to keep his insides in.

"Oh, here's my favourite part!" Caesar exclaims happily as Lectra is on screen again, standing on the edge of the chasm.

Wiress holds her breath, and even though she knows that Lectra is alive, she slightly panics when she steps back. However, this time they show her from a new perspective, the whole screen is occupied by the wall of the abyss and the girl falling. It all happens very fast – Lectra tightens her grip on her weapons and slams the spikes of the nunchaku and the short sword into the soil.

She is gradually slowing down for a few metres before she completely stops falling, and Caesar lets out a triumphant cry. "Hah! I've always suspected that girl is something!" Although he already knew this would happen, he is still honestly amazed, and so is Claudius.

Wiress' heart is beating a hundred times faster and she is sure Lectra was just as nervous at that time. She watches her look up and yell at her pursuers after the last cannon is fired. "What now, guys? Are you coming to get me?"

While the Careers run back to the Cornucopia, Lectra starts to move very slowly by pulling the nunchaku out from the soil carefully and jabbing it back a few centimetres to the left. She repeats the process with the sword as well and she keeps climbing sideways. Wiress immediately sees her destination – a narrow ledge with a tunnel approximately a hundred metres away from her on the wall. _It must have taken an eternity to reach it, _Wiress thinks and shudders. One single misplaced step, a wrong movement and she could have fallen into the darkness.

In the dining hall, the air is frozen with anticipation. It's like everybody is holding their breath as one and when Lectra finally reaches the ledge and stops for a rest, someone behind Wiress claps his hands. She turns back and sees Leonard standing in the door – their eyes meet and a wide smile appears on Wiress' lips. _He could be watching it in his room, but he came down. Maybe he knew Lectra needs some support from us. _And it works, the other students join the applause that quickly grows into a genuine ovation.

Although nobody has ever liked her except Wiress, Lectra has just done something remarkable – she has unwittingly given them hope that even a Sector student can be strong enough to actually fight and survive.

The camera decides not to leave Lectra alone, so they show her gathering some energy, then standing up and entering the tunnel. It's her only way to continue.

"What can possibly make a tunnel like that, I wonder," Claudius says and Wiress rolls her eyes. _Oh, you perfectly know that._

Lectra walks cautiously with her weapons ready and the camera following her. She is halfway, when the cannon is fired signalling the tenth death of the first day. Lectra stops for a second, probably to wonder who it could have been, when a devastating sound forces her to run once again – the tunnel is staring to collapse and crash down around her.

"Damn it!" Lectra yells in rage and almost trips over a rock. "Damn you all!"

She is just in time though, running out onto a clearing at the end of the now useless tunnel. Lectra sits down as she is trying to catch her breath, her head dropping back, but as soon as she regains the control over herself, she sniffles into the air and her expression changes.

She looks up and her eyes glue onto something on the other side of the clearing. The camera follows her stare and finally, the audience can see it as well. _The guys making this programme really know how to build up the drama, _Wiress thinks darkly and she shudders at the sight before them.

It is a muttation.

**o0o o0o o0o**

From the back, the _animal _resembles a gruesome offspring of a mole and a bear, and probably it was the thing that dug the tunnel – it is large with a black fur and it is slouching over something standing on its hind legs, producing the most disgusting sounds Wiress has ever heard. When it notices Lectra's presence, it looks up and turns its head to the side. It doesn't have eyes – however, it has long teeth still dripping with blood from the remains of a body at its feet of which they catch a glimpse as the creature moves.

Although they all know that this tribute is for whom the latest cannon was sounded, the corpse is damaged so badly it is unrecognizable at first. Wiress doesn't want to know who it is, even if a very bad feeling is lurking in her. She is seriously in danger of fainting as she sees a nibbled human heart a few steps away from the Mutt. Instead, she looks at a small girl being lead to the bathroom by a teacher.

The Mutt finally turns towards Lectra with its full body, and another wave of shock hits the dining hall. It is holding a half-eaten head in its clawed paws.

And the lavender eye of the boy from District 5 stares back at Wiress.

For five seconds that feel like an eternity, Lectra cannot move. She is paralyzed with fear. _Move! _Wiress orders her through her mind immediately as she snaps back. _Stand up, Lectra! Move and kill that beast! You can do it! Move! Fight!_

As if her thoughts have really reached her, Lectra slowly stands up and prepares to attack.

"I'd say, Claudius, that she is very brave. Most of the tributes would have chosen to escape," Caesar says as the Mutt drops the boy's head and lunges itself on Lectra. Claudius nods.

"Yes, it would have been indubitably wiser. A muttation is not that easy to kill."

"Maybe our angel is fed up with running."

The fight between Lectra and the Mutt is long and tiring, but finally, the girl comes out as the winner with her sword planted in the creature's chest. On the other hand, Lectra also gained a long cut onto her stomach from its razor claws. "Fuck you…" she mutters pulling her weapon out and she leaves as quickly as her injury allows.

The camera now shows the other tributes scattered around the arena. The Careers are setting up their camp by the Cornucopia already clean from the bodies of the dead contestants. Their boy is still trekking uphill, while Cecelia is shown on another small clearing, gathering some nuts. She is humming a melody.

Meanwhile, Lectra reaches her cliff and drops down onto it dangling her legs over the edge. She groans in pain as she unzips her sweater jacket and inspects her wound which is deeper than she thought. "Damn Mutt," she fumes and leans back taking a deep breath. That is when she notices the silver parachute floating towards her.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the very first sponsor gift of the 54th Hunger Games!" Caesar announces. "The sponsor is Lady Mirian Wellborough and the gift contains medication – a cream for that nasty cut, I presume."

Indeed, it is, and Lectra applies the cream generously onto her stomach and her neck. Her frown slowly disappears and after she finishes treating her injuries, she smells her hand with a smile. Wiress suspects there must have been some sedative or tranquillizer in it, because Lectra's eyelids are starting to droop. She can barely mutter a "thank you" before she falls asleep knocked out by the cream and the exhaustion.

And it is still only early afternoon.

**o0o o0o o0o**

"Yesterday had many extremely exciting events, don't you think so, Caesar?" Claudius asks his host partner after they greet the audience the following day.

Caesar nods. "It sure did, Claudius. But today had plenty of excitements as well."

"Yes. The Careers have sprung into action and there is another new alliance that will probably surprise everyone."

"It's really interesting how that two ended up together," Caesar chuckles. "Let's see what they are doing at this very moment."

The Careers are sitting around the campfire, just like yesterday, but their mood is different – they are chatting pleasantly.

"Did you see that look on her face?" the boy from District 1 asks then starts to mimic a girl's voice. "Please, don't kill me! I beg you!"

They all laugh and Wiress rolls her eyes. _Sick._

Their boy tribute is still behind his boulder, roasting a rat-like animal over some embers. Seemingly, he chose hiding for his method and somehow, even if he is Lectra's enemy, Wiress is relieved he is alive. He is from her district after all.

Lectra is sitting on a small clearing with her back leant to a rock, munching on some prunes she probably got from her pack. Next to her, there is another tribute tucked in a sleeping bag, deep in slumber with her head on Lectra's shoulder – the girl from District 8, Cecelia.

Wiress doesn't know if she should be happy for the alliance. Something tells her that Cecelia is trustworthy, that she won't kill Lectra in her sleep. A person like her, with such a warm and caring air around her cannot be evil and in Lectra's place, Wiress would want her as an ally as well. On the other hand though, the sour feeling of jealousy plants itself in her heart no matter how hard she tries to keep it away, because Cecelia is getting close to _her _best friend.

_Don't be silly, Wiress, _she chides herself. _This alliance will benefit them both._

"Now, let's see the highlights of the day," Caesar says as the picture of the sleeping District 10 tribute girl disappears from the screen. It's morning again, and the Career pack is surrounding a weaponless girl whimpering in fear.

"Please…" she whispers, her tears flowing down on her cheeks. "I don't want to die…"

The boy from District 1 sends an arrow into her throat before she can utter one more plea and the others cheer around him as he shoots her in the chest as well.

"Ruthless and blood-thirsty as always," Claudius says, and then, the camera is showing Lectra as she is perching on a ledge, watching a distressed Cecelia on all fours leaning into a bare little bush, trying her best not to make too much noise with her retching.

While Lectra is debating whether she should help or not, she sees a boy slowly approaching the girl distinctly with the purpose of stabbing her in the back, since he has a dagger in his hand ready to kill. This makes the choice for Lectra.

She jumps off the rock and grabs her nunchaku. Too focused on Cecelia, the boy foolishly doesn't notice her, only when she speaks. "Attacking someone in the back, don't you think it's a bit unfair?"

At the same moment he turns around, Lectra's weapon crashes into his temple, and the second cannon shakes the ground.

As Lectra puts the nunchaku back into her belt, Cecelia scrambles to her feet in panic trying to escape, but another wave of sickness comes over her and soon, she is on the ground again, shivering with the nausea.

"Hey," Lectra says and walks closer to the girl, who startles as she feels her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, no problem. I can understand you very well. This whole situation makes me sick, too." And with this, Lectra gathers Cecelia's loose brown hair into her hand to keep it from falling into the girl's face.

When Cecelia finishes vomiting, she sinks down onto the ground exhaustedly and starts to cry. "I miss him so much…" she whispers between two sobs and Lectra takes her dirty hand.

"Don't worry, you'll see him again."

"I want to go home to him… I can't take this anymore…"

Wiress watches Lectra doing the same thing to Cecelia that she used to do a lot to her as well – she gently grabs her chin and makes her look straight into her eyes. "Cecelia, right?" She nods. "Cecelia, pull yourself together! He's waiting for you at home, but if you give up, he's waiting in vain! You can't give up, understand?"

_Lectra, you are amazing, _Wiress thinks and pride fills her heart to have a friend like her. She knows Lectra probably has no idea who this guy is, but she speaks in such a convincing manner that Cecelia's eyes are immediately flooded with hope. This is something only she is capable of.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

**o0o o0o o0o**

And thus, their alliance is formed.

With a partner, it is much easier to survive in the arena. Wiress watches them slowly getting to know each other while they are scraping up some edible things like nuts, bugs, roots and rats, searching for water and wandering around – and, however she still feels a pang of jealousy whenever Lectra says something to cheer Cecelia up, she is glad that she doesn't have to be alone.

The third day of the Games brings a change in the course of events though. It wasn't unexpected – even if the Careers are doing quite well by killing two more contestants, too much time has passed since the Gamemakers last _played _with them.

So as the evening slowly descends to the arena, the stream solidifies into a small glacier, the soil turns very hard and the tributes' breath is visible as it leaves their lips. The temperature drops even more as the darkness absorbs the arena, and Wiress watches their boy tribute hidden behind his boulder slowly and silently freeze to death.

The sound of the cannon wakes Lectra with a start and she frees herself from the sleeping bag. "Cecelia, are you okay?"

Cecelia who was supposed to be on the watch is sitting next to her with the night vision glasses covering her eyes, her arms wrapped around her stomach and shivering like a leaf. "I-i-it's v-very c-c-cold…" she mutters with clattering teeth. She can hardly speak.

Lectra doesn't waste any more time – she jumps out of the sleeping bag and practically tucks Cecelia into it. After that she runs to gather a few branches and lights a fire despite of the darkness, but it is like her fingers don't want to obey her so the process takes longer than it should. "Hang in there, it'll be better in a sec," she promises, although her own voice is shaking too.

As Cecelia's shivers are seemingly subsiding, Lectra is rummaging in their bag while constantly speaking to the girl. "It's alright, but don't fall asleep, okay? You mustn't fall asleep, Cecelia, you hear me? Why didn't you wake me that you're cold anyway? Cecelia! You know what? Tell me about that boyfriend of yours, who is waiting for you at home! Is he handsome? Kind? What's his name?"

"H-he's the m-most beautiful m-man I've e-ever seen… H-his name is N-Nathaniel… a-and he's m-my fiancé…"

Wiress can feel the rage that Lectra is feeling when she grabs a pack of prunes and throws it onto the ground in her helplessness. Her own mind is searching for a solution to save Cecelia, to no avail.

"He has a nice name. How do you know each other?"

"H-he used t-to be a supervisor i-in… the indigo d-dying f-factory where I worked w-when I was f-fourteen… O-one day I m-messed up the d-dye and the m-materials t-turned out to b-be black i-instead of i-indigo… N-Nat d-didn't let the b-boss fire me t-though…"

Finally, Lectra grabs their metal flask full of water and her face lights up with realization. She puts it into the fire and starts waiting while walking and jogging around in small circles to warm herself up as well. "It's a really sweet story. I wish I could meet him."

"I l-love him so m-much…"

"I know. If only I had a guy like him, but I don't have a fiancé waiting for me at home. You're lucky."

Cecelia is silent for a while, and Lectra is about to open her mouth when she speaks again. "I-I don't u-understand why… You're such a s-special girl…"

Lectra stops circling with her arms to stare at Cecelia in disbelief and lets out a snort. "Special? No, I'm not. Unless you mean "special" as the synonym of "difficult". Then, I have to agree with you."

She takes the flask out of the fire, puts it into the case of the sleeping bag and gives it to Cecelia. The makeshift bed warmer disappears in the bag and the girl sighs in relief as heat floods her from tip to toe. Lectra grins, righteously pleased with herself.

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what I call a true alliance," Caesar says and Wiress cannot disagree with him.

**o0o o0o o0o**

The fourth day is no better either. Around noon, it starts to snow so heavily that Lectra and Cecelia have to stop trekking and find a relatively covered place to hide from the storm.

"I-I thought that i-it can't snow if it's this cold," Cecelia says while they are trying to make a fire from a few twigs.

"I-I bet the G-Gamemakers would be able to make snow even i-if it was as hot as in h-hell," Lectra mutters angrily and swears when a match breaks between her half-frozen fingers.

While Lectra and Cecelia are trying to survive the storm on the other side of the mountain, a serious problem arises in the Careers' camp by the Cornucopia. It is not because of the cold – they have everything to live through that. It is because of the girl from District 10 who decides to seek help in her desperation from her district partner.

She is terribly thin as she has bruises everywhere on her body. Also, she is limping – her leg has probably got frost-bitten. Wiress' throat tightens at her sight and finds herself wishing that someone out there helped her.

Unfortunately, the first one to notice her creeping towards the camp is the boy tribute of District 1, who immediately calls out to the others. The events are happening really fast from there on – they surround the poor girl just like they always do, while out of morbid cruelty the District 1 boy orders his ally from District 10 to kill her. He refuses and they start arguing which results in an arrow in the girl's chest and the first cannon.

Wiress watches the District 10 boy practically jumping onto the other who can barely lower his bow before he gets pinned onto the snowy ground. The blade of a knife flashes as it slits the blonde boy's throat open. The second cannon.

The girl from District 1 cries out. When she lifts her spear and throws it into the back of the tribute that killed her partner, it is like tears are flowing down on her reddened cheeks, but Wiress is not sure. Maybe it's just melted snow.

After the third cannon dies away, the Careers fall into silence.

Three hearts has stopped in less than a blink of an eye.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 5! :)_

_I intended to upload this chapter much sooner, but a few unpleasant things came up – and I went on a vacation with no Internet :D –, so I'm sorry for the late update._

_A wild familiar face appears – Cecelia! I just love underrated characters, and since, if I remember well, Cecelia didn't even have a speaking role in Catching Fire, I thought I must help people realize how awesome she is. :)_

_The little lullaby she is singing, by the way, is not my poem – unfortunately, I'm not a great poet –, it's the chorus of a real song, "67-es út" (Route 67) by a Hungarian band, Republic. My tiny translation is unremarkable compared to that wonderful song, but I tried to grasp the feeling._

_So… *Yoda-face* what you think, let me know. :D_


	6. Crimson snow

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 6 – Crimson snow_

**o0o o0o o0o**

Six tributes remained after the fourth day, which means that the next day a Capitol crew goes out to interview the families and the friends of the survivors. From this day on, it is obligatory to watch everything live until the last moments, and Wiress takes her usual spot in the dining hall.

Most of the people say the same thing over and over – how happy they are that their child, or sibling, or friend has gotten this far and they wish he or she would win and come home. It's painful to hear the hope in their voice.

When the crew came to District 3, the Sector of Talents didn't let the cameras in, so the only people they could interview were Lectra's family. This is the first time Wiress sees them.

Her mother looks exactly like her, but she lacks her daughter's determination from her eyes. "I'm surprised," she says on a quiet voice. "I didn't know Lectra was so sturdy."

Her brother is good-looking and stronger than an average District 3 man. Lectra once told her that as they didn't have a father, he had to take over their family when he was young, and since then, he has been working constantly to earn money. "I believe in her," he says smiling.

Though Wiress remembers that Lectra has a little sister as well, for some reason, they don't interview her. They don't even show a glimpse of her at all.

Cecelia's family seems to consist of the strictest people in the entire District 8. Her father is downright frightening – Wiress has no idea how Cecelia could grow up into such a warm young woman in an environment like that.

However, she can perfectly understand why she is so deeply in love with his fiancé, Nathaniel. Not only is he extremely handsome with sparkling green eyes, but he is as kind as Cecelia. His answers are short when they ask him, but he makes his interview memorable by looking directly into the camera at the end and saying "I love you, Celia".

"It's so reassuring to see the tributes' families rooting for them, isn't it?" Caesar says delightedly, his golden lips curved in a huge grin.

For once, Wiress is glad that the Sector rules are so strict. She doesn't know how she would handle an interview.

After a brief chit-chat between Caesar and Claudius, they show the arena again with the remaining two groups of tributes. Lectra and Cecelia are still fighting the cold while the four Careers are hanging out in their camp. The blonde girl from District 1 is sitting a bit farther, alone.

Even though there are still six people and it is only the fifth day, the air is somehow heavy with the feeling that the end is near. The way the blood-thirsty District 2 boy is sharpening his knives and the way Lectra is watching the curled up Cecelia with concerned eyes all have the same message – the final countdown begins.

Apparently, however, even if it is the calm before the storm, it is not interesting enough to broadcast every minute of it, so they leave the suffering tributes alone and change onto a series of interviews with some experts who analyze the chances of each contestant, just like before the Games began. They are trying to remain unbiased, but their opinion hidden behind their words is the same on who is going to win this year.

One of the experts has to be interrupted though, since something is happening in the arena.

"How exciting!" Caesar exclaims as he and Claudius appears on the right side of the split screen. The left side is occupied by the picture of the Career's camp, with Lectra approaching it with her empty hands lifted above her head, slightly stumbling in the snow. She doesn't have her bag either.

"I'm not t-trying to a-attack you!" she shouts, her voice trembling a bit but it has never been this determined. "H-hear me out!"

The head of the District 2 girl soon appears in the entrance of her tent, quickly followed by the rest of her body. There is a crossbow in her hands and Lectra comes to a halt. This is when the left picture absorbs the entire screen, pushing the hosts out of sight.

"What do you want?" she asks suspiciously, slowly coming closer to Lectra with her weapon pointed at her. In a minute, the other Careers show up as well, quickly surrounding the outsider. Wiress is just staring at the screen, not able to process what she is seeing. A dreadful thought arises in her mind. _Is she trying to get killed? Did she give up?_

_No, she wouldn't give up. Not like this._

_Then… what is she up to?_

**o0o o0o o0o**

Lectra looks directly into the girl's eyes and as she speaks, she controls her shivers the best she can. "I-I want to join you."

Wiress' eyes widen and the others around her are just as surprised. They would have never expected that.

The girl's district partner lets out a disapproving snort. "Why should we trust you? You killed one of our allies."

Lectra cautiously turns to him and answers in the same sarcastic manner. ""Self-defence", e-ever heard of it? Or it's not i-included in the curriculum of the M-Military Academy?"

Before he can shoot a comment back at her, her girl counterpart speaks again. "And what can you offer?"

Again that smirk – that smug, cunning smirk on Lectra's lips. "W-well, I thought y-you'd be calmer if you counted m-me as an ally i-instead of an enemy. B-but if it's not enough, t-then I can help you track District 8 d-down. I-I know her tricks very well, she w-was with me these days."

For a brief moment, the Careers share a glance of mixed emotions while Lectra's expression is unchanging.

"Why did you turn against her?" the girl from District 2 asks as she looks back at Lectra.

"I want r-revenge. That little slut s-stole all my stuff, my bag and w-weapons." Her voice is full of hatred. "S-she's sneaky and sly. She even tried t-to kill me in my sleep."

Wiress is beginning to think that she has overlooked something important. Cecelia is nothing like how Lectra has just described her. And then, she remembers that worried expression on her best friend's face as she was trying her best to keep themselves alive and it dawns to her.

_It's just an act, isn't it, Lectra?_

"What do you think?" the Career spokesperson turns to the girl from District 1, who hasn't commented much on this matter in spite of being the leader.

"She'll be useful," she finally says and lowers her spear. The others do the same with their own weapons – though Wiress notices the disgust on the District 2 boy's face as he puts his knives away a second later than his allies.

**o0o o0o o0o**

The Careers let Lectra warm herself up, they give her food and a thick jacket against the cold, but the fact that she doesn't receive a new weapon tells they are still very cautious with her. Lectra seemingly accepts this and promises that she will gain their trust with her help in capturing Cecelia.

"We'll go in the evening, after dark, if it's okay" she says. "We were lingering in the proximity of the Cornucopia when we separated, she can't be very far."

"Is she wounded?" the District 4 boy asks and Lectra shakes her head.

"No, but she's very weak. So I think it's not necessary for all of you to come with me, even if there are only two of us, it'll be easy to kill her." Before they can find her dangerously authoritative and immediately kill her, Lectra quickly adds. "But it's for you to decide. I don't care if you all want to come."

"We'll split up," the leader declares finally. "Coral, you'll stay here to watch the camp."

The boy from District 4 nods, though he looks a bit disappointed.

"May, you'll go ahead with Lectra. Don't forget to take your crossbow and some extra knives. Lawren and I will scan the area in a large circle around you as you are advancing. We'll be close if you get into trouble." The District 1 girl looks at the others. "Okay?"

"You're the boss, Engeline," Lawren says, but he doesn't seem to be entirely satisfied.

"Fine by me," Lectra nods. "Hopefully we won't have to hike too far."

**o0o o0o o0o**

As soon as the darkness steals the light of the day, the group is ready to go. Lectra has changed into a pair of long boots and apparently she is enjoying the feeling of dry feet as she and May, the girl from District 2 are climbing uphill. They are both wearing night vision glasses and May clutches her crossbow in her gloved hands. Several hundred meters behind them but staying in their line of vision, Lawren and Engeline are following them, their steps only making the faintest crunching noise in the snow. Despite of her hatred, Wiress is amazed how quietly they can move, like real hunters. They must have been trained to achieve this skill.

Halfway to the summit, Lectra leads May onto an almost invisible path in the white blanket.

"This is from where I came," Lectra says walking ahead. They go round the mountain to arrive at a small, poor forest of bare trees. The snow reflects the silver moonlight, adorning everything with an ethereal glow. Lectra pushes the glasses up for a second to admire the sight. A tiny smile is playing on her lips.

The two girls keep walking for another ten minutes when they reach a small clearing surrounded by the white trees. Wiress recognizes the place in an instant – it was where Cecelia first found shelter and was shown gathering some nuts.

Lectra stops. "I think we're close," she mutters and looks around in the area. May does the same, holding her crossbow up with an arrow readied.

Lectra carefully takes a step, then another as if she didn't want to startle the prey. She slowly gets behind May. "Check that direction. I'll watch this," she suggests and the girl nods gluing her eyes onto the trees.

As May gets far too occupied to care about what Lectra is doing, she doesn't turn not even when she hears her temporary ally's steps on the snow. Wiress watches her though, and she spots Lectra's aim before anyone else – a hollow trunk a few meters away from her. When she walks to it, the handle of her short sword catches the light.

May cries out at the same moment as Lectra goes back to stand behind her, weapon in her hand. "There she is!" She points ahead and is about to fire the crossbow in the direction of Cecelia's running shadow, but a blade in her back stops her.

Lectra's eyes are narrowed while she twists the sword planted between May's shoulder blades a few more times before she takes it out and a cannon breaks the silence of the night. "I really should practice what I preach," she sighs a bit disapprovingly referring to what she said about attacking people in the back herself.

A second later, a scared Cecelia appears on the clearing and runs to her. "A-are you alright, L-Lectra?" she stammers practically jumping at her. "I-I was so afraid y-you'd get caught."

When Lectra hugs her, the well-known feeling of jealousy comes back to take Wiress' heart over, but she fights it down. Their reunion has just proved that it was all an act and Lectra is a hero.

"I told you I'd be okay. But now, we have to hurry, the others'll be here in a second." Lectra unzips her jacket and puts it around Cecelia, then she bends down and unties her boots. "Take my stuff. Then run as fast as you can."

Cecelia nods closing her cold fingers around the handle of the sword and grabbing the footwear. She doesn't ask any questions – they must have planned everything in advance. _They just decided not to show it on the screen. _

After Cecelia disappears again, Lectra reaches down to May's corpse and takes the arrow from the crossbow. She gulps, then starts to wound herself randomly – a cut on her face, one on her hand, then another on her leg. Light, but very convincing injuries. As she finishes, she tears her clothes here and there. For a final touch, she dips her fingers in May's blood and smears herself even more. Then, she runs.

Since she is practically barefoot, she can't get really far. She falls into the snow a few steps away from the edge of the clearing and waits. Soon, there are voices coming from the trees behind her.

"What the hell is this? That bitch! She tricked us! I told you, didn't I?"

"I'm not that sure. Maybe she's wounded. Let's go and find her."

"There's a trail of blood."

In a few minutes, Engeline appears beside her, turns her onto her back and helps her up. "Lectra, what happened? Did she attack you?"

When Lectra speaks, even if Wiress knows she is faking, her voice is frighteningly weak and painful. "Y-yes… she killed May and… took my things… She tried to… to k-kill me as well…"

The blonde girl opens her mouth to say something, but Lawren cuts her off. "She used to be your ally, right?" He stares intently at something on Lectra's waist and she follows her gaze. Her face freezes – her eyes meet the familiar wooden sticks of her signature weapon dangling from her belt where she put it less than twenty minutes ago.

The nunchaku Cecelia has forgotten to take from her. And of course, Lawren would recognize it.

"She knew that's a weapon. Why didn't she steal it?"

Wiress' heart stops. Lectra is in trouble.

"Lawren, what are you talking ab-" Engeline starts but cannot finish her question, because in one single motion, Lectra takes the nunchaku out and slams it into her stomach. While the girl doubles up with pain, Lawren sends the first knife towards Lectra with a swish. It scratches her shoulder slightly and wedges itself in a tree.

"I've never trusted you," the boy hisses and Lectra laughs.

"You were right," she retorts as she swings the spiked half of the nunchaku towards him. He leaps back out of reach, but Lectra follows his movements, not letting him attack.

Suddenly, another figure emerges from the darkness – Coral, the boy from District 4. He has probably followed their route after he heard May's cannon. He watches the fight in disbelief, not really knowing what to do until Lawren shouts at him. "Get that District 8 girl and cut her guts out!"

For a brief second, Lectra gazes at Coral finding Cecelia's tracks and running into the forest. During this momentary pause, Engeline gets behind her and manages to capture her by crossing the handle of her spear over her chest practically locking Lectra to herself.

"Damn you!" she swears and struggles to get released, but Engeline is holding her too firmly.

"Lawren, forehead" the girl says. The anger raging in her blue eyes is like thunder. The boy from District 2 grins and takes out another knife.

"As you wish, Queen Engeline," he purrs and for the first time in weeks, Wiress sees fear on Lectra's face.

The students watching in the dining room all forget to breathe and it is like the world has slowed down. Wiress can barely contain the scream that wants to leave her lips. _This is the end. She'll die. _Her eyes are overflowed with tears.

_No…_

**o0o o0o o0o**

To Engeline's misfortune, however, she doesn't notice several very important things.

For example that half of the nunchaku with the spike still concealed in the wood of the handle is pressed to her right thigh, or that Lectra's fingers squirming to reach and twist the ring, or that she unwittingly loosens her grip on the spear as she feels the pain shooting into the flesh of her leg.

Although it doesn't matter anymore, since as Lawren's knife accidentally lands in her forehead after Lectra bent forward, Engeline ceases to feel anything, including regret.

Had she noticed all those things, her cannon wouldn't have sounded.

_What a relief she didn't, _Wiress thinks as she lets out the breath she was holding in. Blinking back her tears, she watches Lectra pushing the girl's dead body away and avoids another knife flying towards her.

"This is the best you can do? Throwing bloody knives?" she teases him, though she knows she shouldn't, because she is starting to become an easy target. She is running out of energy and she can barely feel her legs up to her knees.

Before Lawren can answer, another cannon interrupts their fight for a mere second. It is either Cecelia's or Coral's – Wiress is hoping that it's the latter.

"Wanna see what else I can do, dear?" Lawren asks mockingly and holds up his last knife, probably the biggest one in his whole collection. Instead of throwing it however, he grabs it tightly with his large hand and lunges at Lectra pinning her onto the ground. He cuts her sweater open along with her T-shirt and underwear, revealing the miraculously spotless skin of her chest.

"Hm… what about some decoration here? A nice word to describe you," Lawren breathes into her face, running the flat side of the blade up and down on her chest. Lectra tries to free herself, but he is far too strong and she is so tired. He holds both of her wrists above her head with a single hand while the other is lifting the knife and cuts deep into her flesh.

One by one, he carves the letters very slowly. Lectra shrieks in pain – Wiress has never heard a voice like this leaving her lips and she is utterly terrified. For minutes that seem like eternity, she is paralyzed. She wants to turn her head away so badly, but she cannot move. Even though she knows her best friend wouldn't want her to see her in a state like this…

"Wire!" Lectra cries out suddenly and goes limp under the boy. Wiress shivers.

_Lectra… _

When Lawren finishes his work, her skin is marred by seven bloody letters forming the word "traitor".

"So, what do you think?" the boy asks her as if he cared and cleans his knife with his sleeve. Lectra doesn't say anything.

With this word, Lawren has probably only wanted to refer to betraying her short-lived alliance with the Careers, but for Lectra, this dreadful expression has so many other meanings that hurts much more. Wiress can almost hear her thoughts as she is staring into the nothing.

_Betrayed her family… betrayed her belief… betrayed her district… betrayed her best friend…_

"No…" Wiress whispers almost inaudibly. _You didn't betray me, Lectra. You didn't betray anyone._

_Don't give up!_

At once, the light returns into Lectra's brown eyes. Her legs seem to move on their own kicking Lawren in the groin. The attack catches him off guard and he releases her wrists – surely the biggest mistake of his life. Lectra lifts up the nunchaku and the spike disappears in the boy's nape.

He doesn't die though – not yet.

His fingers tighten around the handle and he plunges the knife into Lectra's chest, right into where her heart is beating. With deadly accuracy.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_"If I die, they won't hurt you because of me either."_

The world which Wiress has been building up for fourteen years has just collapsed like a house of cards in a hurricane.

She can almost feel the blade in her heart as well. Is it because of the connection they shared?

She thought she wouldn't be able to keep herself from crying out, shouting how unfair and terrible this world is. She thought she would sob her soul out in sorrow. But she is calm and her eyes remain frighteningly dry.

This grief is much greater than her. She cannot bear it. It descends onto her like the thick smog that killed every bird in District 3. The invisible hand is back to choke her to death as Wiress is watching a thin stream of blood flowing down from the corner of Lectra's mouth. She greets it like an old acquaintance.

Then, she feels like she is watching the proceedings from behind a thick wall of glass.

Cecelia shows up, a large bruise on her temple. She drops onto her knees next to the two bodies and shoves Lawren out of the way.

"Lectra…? Lectra, can you hear me?" She is sobbing, her fingers trembling as she reaches for her ally's hand and grabs it, like she is the one who is dying and desperately wants one last straw to hold onto. Lectra's distant eyes focus on her face and her lips curve up in a faint smile.

"Cecelia… you're alive…" she whispers, her voice coming out of her throat more as a link of sighs than real words. Cecelia brushes the blood away from her cheek.

"Hang in there, Lectra! It'll be over soon!"

Lectra lets out a bitter chuckle. "I know…" She takes a deep, shaky breath and her eyelids close hindering her eyes and the life that is slipping away from them. Her face is paler with each second.

Nevertheless, her expression is eerily peaceful.

"Wire… I'm sorry…" she manages to whisper before she finally succumbs to the darkness that is engulfing her and a last breath leaves her lips. Her fingers go limp in Cecelia's hand.

Lectra's cannon seems to be much more sorrowful than the others', and a part of Wiress' heart dies with her leaving a deep void. A rotten branch that will never bloom again.

Cecelia slowly stands up from Lectra's body. Tears are flowing down on her gentle face, but her eyes are uncharacteristically clouded by hatred. She glances at the boy from District 2 who is still trying to stay alive, then she sees Engeline's spear in the snow. She bends down and grabs it.

Aiming at the middle of Lawren's chest, Cecelia thrusts the weapon into him once… twice… for the third and the fourth time. Nothing can stop her, she doesn't care when she hears his cannon. She is out of her mind, shouting, shrieking, screaming in pain like she is being tortured. The anthem is merely a background noise. Lawren's body is so damaged that pieces of flesh and insides fly around with each stab. Cecelia is drenched in blood.

The pictures of the dead tributes show up in the night sky. Engeline. Lawren and May. Lectra. Coral. After the sound of the trumpets, Claudius Templesmith announces her victory. But Cecelia doesn't stop.

Twenty-two… twenty-three…

When she collapses onto the ground at last, the snow around her is painted in crimson

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 6! :)_

_I was quick, huh? :) Actually, this chapter and the previous one used to be one really large chapter until I decided to break it into two. Now, I have two medium-sized chapters. :)_

_Let me tell you something about myself – I'm a real cry-baby. _Everything_ can make me cry, happy or sad, pleasant or unpleasant. I cry a lot over the death of fictional characters, sometimes hysterically, but I've never ever thought that I'll cry over the death of _my own _character. But it happened – I was writing Lectra's death when I felt a pang in my heart and my tears started to fall on their own._

_I have no idea why. Maybe I felt like I killed her, or something – which I practically did. Seriously, I don't know how those authors whose books are full of dead characters can keep themselves from breaking down. Or maybe, it's just me who is overreacting. :S :)_

_Anyway, I'm all ears. :) Please, tell me what you think._

_Also, I'm interested in what you all think about Amanda Plummer as Wiress in the Catching Fire movie. :)_


	7. Hope in hopelessness

**Barbed Wire**

Written by Loverly Souris

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Chapter 7 – Hope in hopelessness_

**o0o o0o o0o**

There is a faint disgust on the woman's face, as she runs her eyes over Wiress, but her voice remains polite. "I'm sorry, Miss Creever. Even if your grades are outstanding, I'm afraid I can't give you a job," she says and hands her papers back to Wiress. The girl doesn't respond – somehow, she knew this would happen. This is the fourteenth place that rejects her after all.

"Thank you," she mutters and turns on her heels to leave the office. She doesn't see the woman watching her back with a scowl.

The people on the corridors all look at her, like they have never seen a battered girl who has been living on the streets for more than a month. Wiress wonders what it is that they find strange about her – is it her lustreless hair tied in a bun with a piece of string, or her pale, haggard face and the circles under her eyes? Or maybe it is her grey dress, or her bag made of an old sack. It certainly doesn't help that she is barefoot either.

To be honest, she can understand the woman – if a girl looking like her stepped in front of her, she would send her away too. Still, there is some hope flickering in her heart that someone believes in her graduation papers more than in her appearance and might give her some work.

Wiress walks out of the building heading to find a spot to rest. Ever since she has left the Sector of Talents, she has slept in several places – under unused overpasses, in basements, empty garbage containers, on fire escapes, even on balconies to which she had to climb the wall. Had she stayed in the Sector, there would be a roof over her head with food to eat and after she would graduate in a few months, she would be transported to the Capitol for some further refinements before she could work either there or back in District 3.

Nevertheless, she went ahead on her own accord and finished all her finals earlier, with excellent results. It wasn't strange, but it wasn't really common either – usually those students took their exams in advance who were born in some rich family from the Luxury Quarter, and whose parents owned one of the factories that their little son or daughter can inherit in the future. Poorer students didn't even think about leaving the school. Wiress' teachers were amazed by her abilities, but none of them was able or willing to help in finding an appropriate job for her, this is why she has to live on the streets.

The only support she has received from the adults in the Sector was the grey dress she is wearing – she got it from Leonard, who was genuinely proud of her. "If only I had more power, then I'd be able to help you more," he said patting Wiress' head. He didn't ask her why she had decided to take the finals earlier. He knew it very well.

Even after four years, the presence of Lectra was still so powerful that Wiress was practically suffocated by it. The safety of the monotonic days turned into an endless torture and she wanted to run away, but she was sure her best friend wouldn't like that. So she took a more legal path to break free. She had always known that plunging into the unknown world outside the walls wouldn't be easy, but she didn't regret it. She still doesn't regret it, because she somehow feels that Lectra is smiling approvingly in the sky from where she is watching over her.

Wiress passes the Central Office and she catches a glimpse of Beetee Heller who steps out onto the street arm in arm with an older woman. They are chatting pleasantly about something as the man leads her to a car and opens the door for her.

Beetee received many acknowledgements after Lectra's Games for mentoring her, though he was really modest. In fact, he said that if she had kept his advices, she probably wouldn't have survived that long, so it was a good thing she didn't listen to him. Sometimes playing this "game" dangerously is the key to win.

The first and so far the only contact Wiress has had with Beetee is the short letter she is keeping in her bag. She glances down at her right hand – she is wearing Lectra's district token, the loop of wire on her ring finger. And it is owing to Beetee that she can have it.

A few days after the Games, Wiress found an envelope with her name on her desk. It contained the loop accompanied by a note with a manly handwriting.

_Dear Miss Creever,_

_First of all, I'm offering you my deepest condolences. Lectra told me a lot about you – I know you two were close, so I will not start to throw a bunch of clichéd, meaningless expressions at you about how wonderful she was and how painful her death is to all of us. You knew her much better than me, and my words will never be that powerful to ease your grief, no matter how hard I try._

_I was lucky to have known her though. She was one of the most valuable people I've ever met. The night before the first day in the arena, she came into my room to say goodbye, and she made me promise that after she dies, I send her district token to you._

_So here it is. I sincerely wish that this small memento will be your hope that Lectra is still with you even in the dark times of hopelessness._

_Best regards,_

_Beetee Heller_

As Beetee walks back to the driver's side of the car, his greyish eyes meet Wiress' black ones briefly and the girl turns her head away. She continues to walk while the words of his letter are echoing in her head. She isn't even sure that this male voice in her brain is actually his – although she has heard it several times already, she seems to always forget how he speaks.

Somehow, as Beetee is a mentor, his voice is connected to the Hunger Games, and Wiress' mind automatically rejects everything connected to the Hunger Games.

But when her attentiveness weakens and she is off guard, the pictures often come back to haunt her, especially at night. Then, she used to push her face into her pillow and yell her throat raw – nowadays, she doesn't have the luxury to release her anger and pain. If the Peacekeepers found her on the streets, they would immediately take her to prison for vagrancy.

In Panem, everybody has to work.

Wiress turns onto a dead end and starts to climb up on a fire escape. Her bare feet make no noise on the rusty iron. As she reaches the rooftop, she immediately spots the perfect place for the night, a hole between two walls. She crawls in and smiles contentedly. _This is not that bad._ She fits into the gap perfectly and with her bag under her head it is almost comfortable even. She has slept in much worse places after all.

A spider runs across the wall in front of her – Wiress watches it disappear when her eyes slowly close with exhaustion.

**o0o o0o o0o**

She doesn't have much money left.

A few coins are sitting on her palm, sadly gazing up at her as if it wasn't their fault that there are so few of them. Wiress stares back at them, wondering what on earth she is going to do.

"I have to make money," she says to the coins and hides them in her pocket. "The only question is – how?"

She has already sold everything she could, but it wasn't enough. Even if she tried to cut down on her expenses, only spend her money when it was absolutely necessary, her small fortune has gradually decreased to the point where she cannot even afford a loaf of bread.

Stealing isn't really an option – Wiress has thought about it, but she quickly dismissed the idea. She doesn't need one more thing that could be used against her if the Peacekeepers caught her. Begging is the same, it would only get her into prison.

It is obvious that nobody is going to give her a job, not until she can buy herself at least a pair of shoes. But she cannot make herself presentable while she is dying of hunger.

Catch 22.

Wiress lets out a sigh and sits down onto the ground dropping her bag next to her. It falls down to the pavement with a faint clash of metal on concrete, and her heart skips a beat. Her fingers move to open the sack immediately and when they emerge, there is a little mechanical bird trapped between them. Wiress smiles. _What a relief, it didn't break._

The bird is made of small pieces of copper-coloured scrap metal and she assembled it with her own hands while she was still in the Sector. Not much after Lectra's death, Wiress started to have dreams with flocks of various species of birds – blackbirds, orioles, pigeons, mockingjays, and so on, the majority she couldn't even recognise. And one night, tangled into her dreams, a childhood memory swam up onto the surface of her mind, the picture of a mechanical bird made with the warmest care. It had twinkling blue eyes. The toy somehow made her so safe, so happy, she couldn't tear her eyes away from its beauty for she feared it would all drift away. It was too perfect, too detailed to be a dream.

However, reality waited until two hands came to rest on both of her shoulders – when she looked up and saw the obscured faces of her late parents, she woke up.

After this dream, Wiress decided to build her own bird and that is what she is holding now. She gathered the parts with great effort, always worried that they would catch her with her pockets full of metal plates, gears and wires, and though she tried her best, it turned out to be far less perfect than the one she had seen. Nevertheless it was beautiful and it often helped her overcome the nights when her nightmares were stronger than her.

Wiress places a soft kiss of gratitude on the bird's head, because suddenly, she knows what to do.

**o0o o0o o0o**

The battered crate is turned upside down, and the top of it is occupied by a crowd of hand-made metal animals. Cats, dogs, mice. A lion, a giraffe, a monkey, a bear. An elegant horse. The dragon she once saw in her History book. And birds, lots and lots of them.

Wiress is sitting behind the crate working on a mockingjay, not glancing up at the people who stop to look at her and her merchandise. None of them has bought anything yet – they are eyeing her with some sort of aloofness, as if they liked the animals but they were too afraid of the crazy-looking girl with dirty feet.

It goes on like this for half of the day. Wiress is not willing to give up though and her hold on this very last thread is stronger and stronger with every time her stomach growls.

"Excuse me, miss!"

Wiress looks up and she meets a pair of large black eyes. Some of the passers-by gaze at the little boy disapprovingly, but he seemingly doesn't care. He is holding the horse in his hands.

"How much is this?" he asks while his mother, a friendly-looking woman steps next to him and crouches to take a better look at the other animals.

"It's fifty," Wiress says and the woman lets out a gasp.

"Oh dear, these are beautiful! How come you sell them on such a low price?"

Wiress doesn't answer, and the little boy turns to his mother. "Mom, can I have this one?"

"Why, of course you can. And let's buy one for your sisters as well," she smiles at Wiress and takes her purse out of her bag. She hands the price of three figures to her and takes the mockingjay she has just finished and a cat. "Thank you so much, dear. You're really talented."

"Thank you, madam."

After the little boy and her mother, an older woman who was watching from afar steps to her and buys a dog. Then young couple comes and they choose pair of pigeons. By the time the streetlamps are turned on, Wiress has sold seven animals and she is munching on a piece of bread.

**o0o o0o o0o**

Despite of the rain, she is sitting in the corner of a small square with her crate. It is a more or less covered place, except for the large raindrops that occasionally fall onto her head. Wiress welcomes them – rain is made of water, and water can wash away the dirt of the streets.

She has been selling her animals for a week, and she quickly learnt to change her place all the time. To her surprise, she hasn't met any Peacekeepers yet, but she presumes that they wouldn't leave her alone, so she does everything to avoid them.

She bends a piece of wire to form a cat's ear, then fastens it to its head. It took her several days until she gathered enough material for her first set of animals – she kept practically everything that could be used, and luckily, the streets of District 3 are full of scrap metal. Assembling the sculptures is a bit difficult though without a soldering pipe, and Wiress had to come up with a new technique to make it easier.

While she is rolling some whiskers, she is humming a little melody. Nothing in particular, just notes weaving themselves into a random song. Wiress recently found out that quietly singing to herself can ease the harshness of the real world, that it can make her forget her problems until the music lasts, that humming is a pleasant accompaniment to the monotonic twisting and turning of the wires. She got the idea from Cecelia, when she though back on how she was singing that lullaby to calm down, and it works perfectly. It's not that Wiress considers her own voice outstanding – but it is pure enough to fight the darkness often creeping upon her.

She wonders how Cecelia is doing.

She is so absorbed in her work that at first, she doesn't even notice the man stopping by her crate, only as he speaks, "They are really pretty."

Wiress startles and her hands stop for a mere second, but she doesn't dare to look up, so she goes back to her cat. Blood is rushing into her cheeks. The voice is very kind and familiar.

"Thanks," Wiress says. From the corner of her eyes, she sees the man's hand reaching down for one of the animals, a rabbit. It is a special piece, she has never made another besides that one.

"How much does this rabbit cost?"

"Fifty."

"Then I'll take it," he says and his other hand which is holding an umbrella comes into her field of vision. "Can you please hold this for a minute while I find my wallet?"

"Sure," Wiress mutters. Their fingers brush against each other softly as she grabs the handle, and her blush turns even redder. _His hand is so warm. _From under the umbrella, she lets her gaze wander up on his legs clad in black jeans, but she stops herself and her eyes shoot back at her own lap in embarrassment. _This is crazy. _And yet, she cannot look up, as if an invisible force didn't allow her.

"Here," the man finally says, and puts the money into Wiress' timidly extended palm that is not clinging onto the umbrella. "Thank you so much."

Wiress counts the money, but before she can open her mouth to warn him that he has accidentally paid a double price, he turns and walks away. He is already on the other side of the square when she remembers his umbrella as well, and she finally jumps up to shout after him. "Sir!"

However, he doesn't look back, even though Wiress is sure that he could hear her. She only sees his back and the blackness of his ruffled hair.

Later in the evening, while she is lying under the crumbling scaffolding of an abandoned building, Wiress thinks about a story she once heard about a girl and her anonymous benefactor whom she had never seen. She only knew about the man that he was very tall, so she nicknamed her Daddy Long Legs. Wiress chuckles. The man with the umbrella can be her own Daddy Long Legs – it doesn't matter that he actually seemed to be pretty short.

_Will I ever see his eyes?_

**o0o o0o o0o**

In Wiress' Capitol-issued History textbook, there was a very interesting passage on their ancestors from before the Great Apocalypse that captured her attention.

It said that a group of people believed in a deity called "God" whom they thought was in charge with their past, present and future. They worshipped him in sacred places, praying to him to give them what they wanted, to guide them on the roads of life. Of course, at the end of the paragraph, there was a sentence stating that there is no scientific proof of God's existence, but Wiress could see through it. After all, a higher leader, more powerful than the President, cannot fit in the autocratic system of Panem.

Although she has often felt that everything in her life happened for a reason, whether she saw it immediately or not, she couldn't really connect it to an invisible force – at least, not until lately. But now, Wiress is suspecting there must be_ someone_ directing her fate, because of all the things happening to her.

That she could always find a relatively safe place to sleep.

That she came up with the idea of selling wire animals to make money.

That she met the man with the umbrella, her Daddy Long Legs, and with his contribution, she could buy herself a pair of shoes.

That she is woken up by a pair of gloved hands dragging her out of the container, putting handcuffs around her wrists.

Probably this deity thinks that after receiving this much good, she can handle a bit of bad.

"You are arrested for vagrancy," the Peacekeeper says on a harsh tone as he sits Wiress into a white police van with the District 3 seal on it and hurls her bag at her. She can barely process this new current of events when she is already transported to the Administration Area.

Those who are caught on the streets can expect a two-week-long imprisonment in the so-called Penal Institute. This place was built to punish the people deemed guilty either rightfully or wrongfully. On the top of the tall walls, the curving barbed wire serves as threatening memento of the living hell on the other side. Because it does not matter if you really committed a crime or you are innocent – everybody in here suffers from the cruel treatment of an oppressive regime as one. Pain and death are blooming between the greyish bricks of the buildings like horrible flowers and they are slowly suffocating every soul with their lethal pollen.

As the van turns onto the yard of the Institute, a silly thought occurs to Wiress. _I should really get used to this. It seems that I'll spend my whole life in some kind of prison anyway. _There is a small window on the side of the vehicle – she cannot see anything but a thin slice of the dark grey sky.

Wheels coming to a screeching halt on the gravel of the lot and a few seconds later the Peacekeeper opens the back door reaching for Wiress. He pulls her out with such a force that the girl loses her balance and falls onto the ground. Tiny, sharp rocks pierce into her palms.

"Get up!" the Peacekeeper shouts at her, but he doesn't move to help her up or something. Wiress scrambles to her feet and the man pushes her bag into her arms. "Here. Though it won't be very useful."

After that, Wiress has to follow him into an office where a stern-looking woman with glasses asks her various questions and writes down her data into a file. When it's over, she announces the usual sentence in cases like this – two weeks. Since there is no room for appealing, Wiress accepts it without a word solely because this is the only thing she can do. And maybe because deep inside her heart, there is a fragment that is already starting to give up.

The Peacekeeper leads her into another room with more guards and they take her bag replacing it with a pair of grey trousers and a shirt, the uniform of the prisoners. They order her to change her clothes. Wiress hesitates, she looks around searching for a separated area, but as she finds nothing, her only option is to get naked in front of these men.

Wiress tries to ignore that disgusting satisfaction on their faces which appears while she unzips her dress, takes it off and as quickly as she can, she pulls on the oversized shirt. The trousers are dangling from her bony hip as well. "Too big," she says quietly and the men around her break out laughing.

"That's the only size, sweetie."

The top button of her shirt is resting exactly on her breasts, practically leaving her whole chest uncovered.

The last stop is the cell where she is going to spend her confinement. Four bunk beds crammed into a room not much larger than her own bedroom where she used to live _alone_ during her last years in the Sector. Two beds are empty, six pairs of eyes are inspecting her from the occupied ones as the Peacekeeper pushes her inside and shuts the door behind her. The eyes of six other women. All hostile.

One single window provides a bit of morning light. It's up high, on the same level with one of the free beds. Wiress finds it strange, because it seems to be a nice place and she wonders why no one took it, but in the end, she doesn't care and climbs up. On the opposite bed, a middle-aged woman glances at her for the last time before she turns to face the wall. Wiress looks outside through the window and she suddenly realises why nobody wanted to sleep here.

From where she is lying now, she can perfectly see a small area surrounded by three brick walls. A Peacekeeper is leading a broken, limping prisoner to the middle wall, then he walks back a few steps while unhooking the gun from his shoulder. The man is whimpering in fear and he is about to fall onto his knees and beg for forgiveness, but the guard doesn't give him that opportunity – he executes him unceremoniously with a clear shot in the forehead.

The blood from the corpse flows into the drains in the ground, like simple rainwater.

Wiress is motionless. _Yeah, I should get used to this, too_, she tells herself bitterly at first, then after it finally sinks in, she starts screaming inside, sobbing and crying to get her freedom back.

_I don't want this…_

No matter how many deaths she has seen in her life – the high number won't make them less traumatizing. It never will.

**o0o o0o o0o**

_Thank you for reading chapter 7! :)_

_Sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry! *bowing apologetically* My life wasn't particularly easy these days, which is a bad reason, I know – I mean, whose life is easy nowadays? –, but I'm finally back. :) I'll try to update more. I'll really try, even though my university gives me so much work that my brain is practically dead. :D So don't think I've abandoned this story. :)_

_As usual, I want to know what you think. :)_


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